Deuces, Baby
by BingChiLing
Summary: Alyssa Chau Series #5. With Morelli now out of the picture, Alyssa has a better grip on what she doesn't want in her life but does she know what she does want? Will Ranger step up to the plate or will she allow a new man to enter her life. Rated M for some major angst.
1. Chapter 1

_**Notes and Disclosures: **__If the characters seem familiar it's because they probably are! I've taken the setting and several characters from the amazing Plum World given to us by Janet Evanovich and taking them for a spin on my own accord. _

_**A/N: **__This is the Fifth installment to my Alyssa Chau Series and takes place right after "Ring-a-Ding-Ding." _

_I want to thank those that have been sticking with Alyssa through the different stories and adventures. =) _

_I do want to warn you that this is a darker and more angsty story. It's rated M for strong mature content later on in the story._

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

I woke up to the sunlight peeking through the sliver of open space between the curtains and a soft tender hand stroking my cheek. My eyes flew open as I grabbed the hand and chomped down teasingly on the fingers attached to my prey.

I smiled at the twinkling green eyes staring back at me.

"Morning, Beautiful," Les smiled back. "You know I could get used to waking up like this for the rest of my life."

I leaned into him and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and sat up. "Well, don't get used to it. I'm going back to my apartment tonight."

"Are you sure you're ready?" he pouted. "You can stay here for as long as you want. I'll even kick Bobby out so you can have your own room."

I shoved him playfully, "That's terrible. You can't kick out your best friend."

The gorgeous green-eyed man with spikey blond hair in bed with me would be none other than the loveable callous flirt, Lester Santos. A former Army Ranger with a body to die for and before your mind wanders as to why I am currently in his bed let me set the record straight — we're just friends — good friends.

Two weeks ago my ex-boyfriend, Joe Morelli, proposed to me and asked me to move with him to Washington, D.C. I turned down his proposal and it broke my heart. It was then that I realized that I loved Joe but I didn't love the idea of being tied down to what he was offering me. We both parted ways in a civil manner and he immediately packed his things and moved to D.C.

So why am I depressed when I was the one that cruelly turned down his beautiful proposal on New Year's Eve? Because days before that, I was starting to fall for another man — Batman. You may be thinking what kind of fantasy world is this chick living in? And you're right, it was like a fantasy.

The man, Batman, would be none other than Ricardo Carlos Mañoso mostly known and referred to by his street name, Ranger.

Lester would be Ranger's cousin. And a short couple of weeks ago, I spent a wonderful week with their family for the Christmas holiday. Ranger who's known for his stoic, no nonsense, blank face, macho exterior let down his defenses over the holidays and became a man I quickly started to fall for.

Now, don't get me wrong, I've always had a slight thing for Ranger. You'd have to be dead to not want that man. He's as sexy as they come. Towering at over six feet tall, built like Rambo, skin the color of mocha latte, and a rare smile that when seen could make your heart melt.

Ranger and I shared a beautiful unspeakable night together on Christmas Day and upon our return back to reality, aka Trenton, NJ, he reminded me that it was time to get my head out of the clouds. He reminded me of the fact that his life did not lend itself to relationships and told me to fix things with Joe then walked away which was what I did. I didn't see him again until days later at the same New Year's Eve party Joe and I were also in attendance. Ranger showed up with some hot young tamale on his arms.

Then I did the most embarrassing thing I've ever done in my entire life, I showed up on Les and Bobby's doorstep sobbing like a baby and turned into a sniveling girl. I rarely ever run to people to cry on. My go to was usually tubs of Ben and Jerry's and sulking by myself in front of the television, frying my brain with 80s classic movies.

But having my heart broken twice within a few short days was too much for me to bear — not to mention the fact that the holidays were already a rough time for me. I was stripped of the only family I had on Christmas Day after a tragic accident when I was eleven and was quickly pushed into the system. So needless to say, this wasn't the best time of the year for me. Usually I would be running to my best friend, Misty Plum. But she's been pre-occupied with her new boyfriend and her workload has been increasing as she was trying to work towards a promotion.

So, I showed up on Les and Bobby's doorstep. Les and I had grown quite close over the past few months. Bobby knew me on a much more intimate level and probably knows my body better than I do. And he has yet to take me on a date. He moonlights as a Medic for Rangeman, Ranger's private security company. Considering how accident prone I am and the number of situations I get myself into, he's had to care for me on more than one occasion.

He and Les were a part of what I called Ranger's team of Merry Men (although I'm pretty sure they wouldn't appreciate knowing that I call them that). A team of highly-trained, ex-military men working private security, special ops, and occasional high-bond skip tracing.

I met these men when I lost my job as a Lingerie Buyer and was desperate for a job. My car had been repossessed, I was behind on my rent, and my cupboards were bare. Misty, being the great friend that she was, introduced me to her weasel-faced cousin, Vinnie Plum, and blackmailed him into giving me a job. So shortly after that, I officially became a Bonds Enforcement Agent more commonly known as a Bounty Hunter.

Pretty big jump in careers, right? — Going from college, earning a Business Degree and buying lingerie for a distributor to chasing down low-life court date skippers. Ranger reluctantly swooped in and trained me as a favor to Connie, Vinnie's Office Manager, and shortly after that I guess I grew on him like barnacle and we became friends.

He slowly introduced me to the people in his life — my Merry Men. And all of these men have taken me in under their wings and offered me back up when needed.

Les and Bobby have been a godsend. I've taken turns sharing their bed. They cook and clean and I never have to lift a finger. It was like I was living a fairytale. But, alas, it's time for me to face the facts that I needed to move on with my life and be a big girl and start cooking my own meals and doing my own laundry. Ok scratch the cooking part, me and the stove have a very bad relationship. The microwave, however, is my best friend.

"No, I can easily replace him as my best friend with you," Les joked grabbing me around the waist and pulling me into his rock hard body.

"I won't tell Bobby you just said that. You'll break his heart."

"He'll get over it and understand," he teased kissing my neck. "You're much easier on the eyes."

I pulled away from him and pelted him with the pillow before disappearing into the bathroom. The great thing about running to Les and Bobby was that they never pushed me to talk about things that made me uncomfortable. They offered me support without any of the critical judgment. The most I filled them in on was about Joe's proposal. I could tell that Les had an idea that something was wrong between me and Ranger but he never pushed. That's why he's my favorite Merry Man.

Shortly after we returned to Trenton from our Christmas holiday, he dropped off the radar and went into the "wind" as he calls it. I never asked where he was and I suppose I got a tad bit snippy every time someone asked me if I'd spoken to him so it's probably not hard to tell that something was up between us.

I finished my shower and started rummaging through Les' closet for clothes. I threw on a slouchy blue sweater and started towards the door shouting and rubbing out the kinks in the back of my neck, "Bobby, have you seen my skinny black jeans? You know the one that makes my butt look like the shape of a heart?"

I bumped into Les' back as he was standing oddly in the doorway.

"Yeah, you left it in my room," Bobby called out to me walking out of his bedroom sans shirt and pants, brushing his teeth.

I stepped around Les as I focused on Bobby's jaw dropping open. He tossed me my jeans, I followed his eyes to a man with a snarl fixed on his face standing in their living room — Ranger.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: **Thank you for the kind words from the previous chapter. It brings a big smile to my face! _

_**Previous Chapter: **__I bumped into Les' back as he was standing oddly in the doorway._

"_Yeah, you left it in my room," Bobby called out to me walking out of his bedroom sans shirt and pants, brushing his teeth. _

_I stepped around Les as I focused on Bobby's jaw dropping open. He tossed me my jeans, I followed his eyes to a man with a snarl fixed on his face standing in their living room __—__ Ranger._

* * *

**CHAPTER 2**

Ok so I know how this could've looked to someone coming into the middle of this awkward situation — two men standing in the middle of the living room in nothing but their boxers and a girl prancing around with no pants on.

But if you knew me well enough, you'd know that awkward situations come naturally to me and it's actually a normal occurrence. But I also will argue with you, that there's almost always a logical explanation behind everything that happens with me and it's rarely ever my fault.

In this case, the boys can wear whatever they want in their own home. In my case, I couldn't find my pants…ok maybe I'm not really making a good case for myself after all…

"Ranger!" I gasped out quickly trying to pull on my skinny jeans. And if you've ever tried putting on skinny jeans, you'd know that it's not something you can do quickly.

I fell backwards landing on my ass and struggled to pull the tight material over my thighs and up my ass. I bounced up, fastening the button and tried to regain my composure.

Ranger's eyes were as dark as coal and if I didn't know any better, he was seconds away from disengaging his firearm and ready to shoot off a couple of rounds. But I'd like to believe that Ranger's no cold-blooded killer.

"So…what brings you here, Ranger," I tried to casually lean up against the sofa trying to act as normal as possible.

Without responding to me, his stealthy movements had Les in his hands in a matter of seconds and slammed up against the wall. Ranger may have a significant amount of bulk on Les, but Les was not a man who couldn't handle himself. He quickly reacted and shoved Ranger half way cross the room.

"What the fuck?" I shouted running towards Les and throwing myself in front of him with my arms spread out before Ranger could bounce back and connect his fist into his face.

"Babe, get out of the way," Ranger growled.

"No!" I shouted back at him and shoved him in his chest which I'm sure was made of granite. "I'm not going to let you start swinging punches at my friend without any explanation as to what's crawled up your ass. What the hell are you doing here anyways?"

"I just landed. You weren't in your apartment. Control Room, said that your trackers showed you were here," he grit out.

Great, so Rangeman still has trackers on me. I swear I looked everywhere and removed them from my purse and car. These men were a little invasive when it came to my safety and protection.

"So you break in and proceed to try to beat the shit out of your cousin?" I cried out.

"Beautiful, it's ok. It's how brutes like him communicate," Les said placing his hand on my shoulder and stepped around me to face Ranger. "You made your choice, Cuz. You had your chance. It's time to step aside and let a better man step up."

The whole room tensed up as Ranger's fist flew forward, Bobby grabbed ahold of Ranger's arm and tried holding him back and once again I jumped in between Ranger and Les.

"This is stupid!" I screamed. "You," I pointed at Ranger angrily as Bobby released his grip on him, "it is too early in the morning to be starting fights. Don't you dare lay a finger on either of these men or I'll kick your ass all the way to China."

"Babe," Ranger said with a hint of amusement.

"Don't _'Babe'_ me, mister," I said angrily. "You disappear without a single word and then show up weeks later and try to beat the shit out of my friends. I won't stand for it."

"Babe—"

I raised my hand, "—Nope, I don't want to hear it. I need to get going. I'm glad that you're back safe and sound, Ranger, from whatever jungle you've been playing Rambo in. But I swear to God if I find a single bruise, cut, or even missing hair on either one of these men's head, I will find you and have it out with you."

I could feel Les smirking behind me. I spun around and jabbed him in the chest, "And don't you dare egg him on, Les. You're not helping the cause." I then tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll call you later so that I can come over and pack up my stuff."

I walked over to Bobby and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek, "I'll talk to you later."

"Don't you want to stay for breakfast? I'll make your favorite, chocolate chip pancakes with peanut butter."

I moaned at the thought of the sweet gooey stickiness.

He chuckled.

"As much as I'd love to, I just don't have the time today. Raincheck?"

"Any time, Bomber."

I stepped up to Ranger and stuck my hand out to him. He looked at it like it was a foreign object so I grabbed his hand and shook it firmly, "Good to have you back, Ranger. I'll be seeing you around."

I walked around him and grabbed my purse off of the coat hook next to the door and walked out leaving the three men to their own devices.

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

I parked my car along _Lincoln Park_ in search for Franco Palowski. Palowski was picked up a few weeks ago for harassment. Generally, he's a fairly harmless man who stands in the park and preaches the Lord's name and his prayer.

But apparently he's taken his preaching to a new level by throwing wooden crosses at people's heads as they pass by. And honestly, you know he means no harm. He's just a kooky old man with a whole lot of faith. But he struck the wrong man on the wrong day and the guy pressed charges against him.

I walked along the frozen dirt path towards the pond in search of the wiry old coot which wasn't that difficult. Just follow the looks of disdain on passing park goers and the sounds of loud ranting.

I spotted him standing on top of a large rock shouting at a young couple holding hands telling them that God would smite them because of their unsavory public display. He then flung a wooden cross at them like a ninja star.

The couple looked up at him and sneered as the guy yelled a few obscenities and pulled his girlfriend away.

"Hey, Palowski," I shouted at him, "God doesn't like men who miss their court date either. So why don't you come down here and let me take you to get rescheduled?"

He turned to look at me and shouted, "A woman doing a man's job? That's blasphemy!" He flung a cross at me and hit me square in the forehead.

"Hey!" I shouted angrily and stomped towards him. "God's not going to put food on my table and keep a roof over my head so this is what I've got to do," I grabbed the sleeve of his blazer and tugged at him to step off of the rock.

"Do not man handle me, whore!" he yelled crazily.

"Stop being difficult, old man!" I pulled at him and suddenly he slipped and fell backwards off of the rock and landing hard on to the cold frozen ground.

"You dare try to silence the word of God by killing me?" he screamed, yet not moving from his position on the ground.

"You wouldn't have fallen if 1) you weren't standing on an icy rock and 2) just came with me quietly," I sneered grabbing his hand and cuffed his wrists together. "Let's go, crazy old kook," I instructed yanking him up on his feet and dragged him back to my POS car, a rusted burgundy 1984 Merkur XR4Ti.

"What the fuck?" I cursed staring at my parked car covered from head to toe in bird shit.

"You've angered the heavens," Palowski chuckled.

"Shut up," I muttered shoving him towards the car and deposited him in the passenger seat and locked him in.

Slipping into the driver side, I cranked up the heat and pulled the wiper lever towards me to dispense the windshield wiper fluid but to my disdain nothing came out. Instead, my wipers smeared the bird crap across the windshield making it worse.

_Fuck!_ How the hell did I even get bird shit on my car to begin with? We're in fucking Trenton, NJ which is pretty far north! I thought that birds freaking flew south for the damn winter. And why of all the cars parked on along this fucking curb was mine shit bombed?

"God punishes those have sinned," Palowski spoke up from the seat next to me.

I shoved my hand into my purse and pulled out what I was looking for and placed it against Palowski's neck and watched him go limp. What? If God was punishing me for my sins, then why not add another to the long list? At least this was satisfying and helped keep me sane.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Previous Chapter: **__"God punishes those have sinned," Palowski spoke up from the seat next to me._

_ I shoved my hand into my purse and pulled out what I was looking for and placed it against Palowski's neck and watched him go limp. What? If God was punishing me for my sins, then why not add another to the long list? At least this was satisfying and helped keep me sane._

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

I rolled down the window and stuck my hand out trying to wave my key fob in front of the gate opener doo-hickey but thanks to my bird poop windshield, my field of vision was deeply skewed and I pulled in too far from the key reader. Snot was dripping down my nose and my face stung as I unbuckling my seatbelt and put the car into park, I leaned half of my body out the window and waved the key profusely at the reader.

I drove the entire way to the TPD with my head hanging out the window. I probably should've tried to clear my windshield off before heading to Rangeman but I didn't want to answer anyone's questions about what happened between me and Joe or face the humiliation of them finding out about my shitty car. Finally after what felt like eons, the light turned green on the key reader and made a satisfying beep before the gate raised.

I slowly pulled into the garage and maneuvered my POS car into a dark space in the corner as I attempted to squint through the foggy mess on my windshield. Suddenly my head flew forward and hit the rim of the steering wheel as I felt a hard impact followed by a distinct sound of metal crunching metal.

I stayed dazed for a few seconds with my head against the steering wheel when the door was ripped open and the cold air rushed in causing me to shiver involuntarily. I was pulled out of the car and immediately wrapped in a pair of strong arms around my waist and hoisted me in the air and carried me towards the entrance of the building.

"Les, put me down. I can walk," I weakly protested with my face in his chest.

"Beautiful, you just drove that hunk of junk you call a car into one of the Rangeman SUVs head on. I'm pretty sure you have some sort of concussion. I mean why else would you just drive into a parked car? Even you're not that bad of a driver," he asked pushing the button on the elevator.

"My head is fine. And what the hell is that supposed mean _'even I'm not that bad of a driver?'_ My windshield was covered in bird shit. I couldn't see anything," I said defensively. "God, I hit a Rangeman vehicle? Was it bad? Palowski was right. I'm being punished for my sins. I just replaced the freaking tires on that thing too!" I cried out loud right as the elevator dinged and the door slid open.

"Brown!" Les yelled out. "Why didn't you just clean off the windshield?"

"No more fluid," I replied sheepishly.

"That was incredibly dangerous, Beautiful. What if you had crashed into a moving vehicle? You could've hurt someone or worse gotten yourself killed."

"I drove really slowly with my hazards on. It wasn't that long of a distance. I figured when I got here, I could find something to clean it up with."

Les shook his head and continued clamoring down the hall. "Brown!" he shouted again.

"Quit yelling. I'm right here," he answered right next to. "What happened?" his voice went from slightly annoyed to deeply concerned.

"Nothing!" I snarled and pushed my head up. "Put me down, Les. I'm fine."

"You're getting quite the bump on your head though, Bomber," Binkie said with concern as he stepped up to us.

"Come on let me check it out in the exam room and then you can tell me what happened," Bobby said putting his arm around my waist and felt a tingle on the back of my neck.

I looked ahead and saw Ranger and a well-endowed exotic bronzed skinned woman laughing and touching his arm affectionately as she conversed with Ranger and Tank. The same gorgeous vixen that accompanied him to the New Year's gala in Princeton. My heart fell as my eyes diverted away from the scene that I wish I was a part of instead of the latest Latin spice that occupied the hall and followed Bobby into his exam room.

Bobby did the usual checks and balances typically performed after I've hit my head while I explained to him what had happened up from my capture of Palowski to the crash in the garage.

The door swung open and Les entered with his typical smug smile. "I have some good news and some bad news."

I scrunched my nose at him.

"Bad news is that you caused quite a bit of damage to the Rangeman vehicle."

I winced. Great, I'm a walking disaster and the last thing I wanted to do was bring disaster to Rangeman — especially after they did the favor of hiring me so that I wouldn't go hungry. And this is how I repay them — by destroying property.

Tears began to well up in my eyes.

"Beautiful, there's no need to cry. The cars are insured, and I haven't even told you the good news yet."

I sniffled and quickly swiped at my eyes.

"Are you ready for it?" he asked with a twinkle in his beautiful emerald green eyes.

I nodded my head.

"You no longer have to drive your piece of shit car anymore. It's totaled."

My jaw dropped open and I shouted, "How is that good news, Les?"

"That thing was a monstrosity! You just did yourself a favor and put it out of its misery."

I punched him in the arm. "I need to start my shift. Am I cleared for duty, doc?"

Bobby nodded his head and handed me an ice pack, "Yeah, you're fine. Just keep it iced. But are you sure you want to go to work. Maybe you should head back to our place and get some rest. I'm sure someone else will take your shift."

I shook my head, "I need to replace my car and pay for the damned damages now. Besides I feel fine."

"Beautiful, the Rangeman fleet is insured so there's no need to worry about it. As for your car, let's face it, you're just going to go pick up another piece of shit car that will cost you next to nothing."

He was right. At first I bought shitty cars because that was all I could afford. And as you can tell from my nickname, _Bombshell Bounty Hunter_, my luck with vehicles was next to nothing. But now, purchasing a nice car just didn't make any sense considering my car karma.

"Maybe I'll get something nice next time, Les. You can't predict what I'll do," I said pointedly, sliding my butt off of the exam table.

"Beautiful, you're anything but predictable," he grinned.

"Thanks, Bobby," I kissed him on the cheek.

"Dinner tonight?" he asked. "I'll make us a roasted chicken with some baby greens and potatoes."

"Sounds wonderful, but do you think you could hide the greens under the potatoes?"

He chuckled, "I'll see what I can do."

"My shift ends at seven. I need to swing by and pick up my stuff anyways," I wrapped my arms around Les' waist and inhaled his calming scent of ivory soap and spicy aftershave.

"You sure you don't want to just stay with us permanently, Beautiful?"

I nodded although I wanted to say no and live with him forever.

A familiar tingle on the back of my neck shivered down my spine as I pulled away from Les and heard a deep unhappy growl.

"I'm going to be late for my shift. I'll see you boys later tonight. Good to see you again, Ranger," I narrowed my eyes as I passed him through the door, keeping my head low.

I took my seat next to Manny in the Control Room and plopped the ice bag against my head. He was grinning from ear-to-ear and usually Manny's smiles would make me melt but not today because today he was sporting a shit-eating grin. Manny was a sexy Puerto Rican ex-marine. And like most Rangeman employees, he's got muscles all in the right places.

"Don't say anything," I muttered. "At least it didn't blow up this time."

"Bomber, you're one of a kind."

"Yeah, cause the world would be in a whole lot of trouble if there was more than one of me," I rolled my eyes and focused back on the monitors.

Monitor duty has to be one of the most boring things to do. All you do is sit in a room and stare at a bunch of screens looking to see if something out of the ordinary will happen. I'm ashamed to admit that most times when I'm assigned to monitor duty, I end up falling asleep.

"What are you doing tomorrow, Manny?"

"I'm off. What's up?"

"Want to go with me to buy a car?"

He raised an eyebrow, "You're not going to go get another piece of shit car are you? 'Cause I don't think I could stand to watch you get behind the wheel of another deathtrap."

I shook my head, "I think I'm going to treat myself to a slightly used car this time. I've got quite a bit of money saved up from when I was working at _Cowbells_ and over the holidays. I'm just not very good with negotiating. Usually, I'd take Misty with me, but she's in Paris right now for some Fashion Show or something."

I worked at a bar called _Cowbells_ for a short stint last month as a server. Ok it was so much a bar as it was a strip joint but I was not, and I repeat — NOT a stripper. I was a server. But Les and Cal followed me there one night and helped break up an altercation between me and one of the patrons. So that's how I came to work at Rangeman.

I needed the money desperately to pay off the debt after my apartment was firebombed by a local gang I pissed off and Ranger offered to hire me part-time. But in the end Ranger, the guys and my friends surprised me. Ranger pawned my old engagement ring and got me out of debt to the building management and everyone else pitched in to help me furnish my apartment. They all said that the money was practically mine and I helped myself get out of debt but I still feel that I will forever be in their debt.

"Sure, Bomber. How about I pick you up at your place at 0900 and we can grab some breakfast before heading over."

I scrunched my nose at him.

"That's nine," he smiled.

I scrunched my nose harder at him. Did he seriously think that I was getting up before nine on a Saturday? This man is fruit loops.

"Noon and lunch."

_Ding! Ding! Ding!_ Give the man a round of applause.

"Thanks, Manny," I grinned and kissed him on the cheek, getting up from my chair ready to let Cal take over my shift.

"What are you thanking him for?" Cal asked pulling me into a bear hug.

"Manny's going car shopping with me tomorrow."

"Make sure you get something with power," Cal said grinning which offset the tone of his flaming skull tattoo covering his bald head.

"I'll keep that in mind. I've got to run. I have a dinner date!" I smiled and bounded down the hall in search for Bobby or Lester when I ran into her — the Latina seductress.

She was stepping out of the Break Room when she made eye contact with me. Her eyes crinkled as the corners of her lips turned up into a smile and that's when she did it — she started to make her way over to me.

"You must be Alyssa," she smiled warmly. God she was gorgeous and her friendly politeness made it hard to hate her. But we did right? Hate her that is.

I nodded my head in response unsure if I were to open my mouth that I would be able to control what flew out of it.

"I'm Carmen but most people call me Cami. It's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you."

_"Funny. I've never heard anyone mention you to me before," _I thought to myself — namely Ranger. "Nice to meet you," I smiled back politely and shook her hand.

She winced and touched her forehead, "Are you ok, what happened?"

Great, I probably look like a purple lumpasaurus standing in front of Ranger's gorgeous new girlfriend.

"Just a little bump. No biggie," I tried to wave her off.

Les came bobbing down the hall and approached Carmen from behind and kissed her on the cheek. "Cami, are you keeping yourself out of trouble?"

"You know I always do, Les," she giggled.

I couldn't help but start to feel my temper flare. I mean I couldn't really feel jealous right? I'm not usually a jealous person and I had no claim on Ranger or Lester for that matter. Why do I feel like I'm about to go ape shit on someone?

"It was nice to meet you, Carmen. I need to go look for Bobby."

"He's gone already, Beautiful. Said he wanted to get a head start on dinner," he walked over and swung his arm around my shoulder. "Let's roll. Wouldn't want the wife to slave over the stove and us arrive late."

"Babe?" Ranger called out behind us.

"Ranger," I stopped to turn and face the Batman.

"Can you step into my office for a few minutes?"

"Can't. I have dinner plans."

He quirked his eyebrow as if he's never been shut down before. Wait — this was Ranger — the Batman — the Cuban Sex God — of course he's never been told "no" or turned down before.

"Yeah, got a hot date. Can't keep him waiting," I attempted to wink at him but instead turned out to be a retarded squint.

I grabbed Les' arm and hauled ass out of there.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: **I usually just post chapters on Tuesdays and Thursdays but felt the strong desire to post an extra chapter this week. =) Hope you enjoy it!_

_**Previous Chapter: **__"Can you step into my office for a few minutes?"_

_ "Can't. I have dinner plans."_

_ He quirked his eyebrow as if he's never been shut down before. Wait __—__ this was Ranger __—__ the Batman __—__ the Cuban Sex God __—__ of course he's never been told "no" or turned down before._

_ "Yeah, got a hot date. Can't keep him waiting," I attempted to wink at him but instead turned out to be a retarded squint._

_ I grabbed Les' arm and hauled ass out of there._

* * *

**CHAPTER 4**

Les dropped me off at my apartment after dinner and found bouquet of dead roses in front of my door. He stepped forward cautiously inspecting the dead flowers before picking them up and disarmed my new security system still walking through and making a sweep declaring it safe for entry. These guys were nothing but thorough.

I reached for the flowers and tossed them on the coffee table. He gave me a silent puzzled look as if to ask who they were from.

I shrugged my shoulders, "I haven't exactly been home for the past two weeks. Maybe they're from Joe before he left and they died."

He nodded his head in agreement, "Are you sure you want to stay here alone? I can stay."

I nodded my head, "I'm fine."

We shot the shit for a little longer and then I had to practically shove him out the door after repeatedly reassuring that I was going to be ok.

Now, I wasn't so sure if I had made the right decision after hovering in the doorway to my bedroom. I stared into my dark bedroom and the big empty bed that stood before me. After my return from a wonderful holiday vacation with Ranger and Les' family, I came home to the most amazing surprise.

A couple of months ago my apartment was firebombed and everything I owned went up in flames except for my beloved Monster and a box filled with memories. Because of my layoff, I had unintentionally let my renter's insurance lapse and I owed the property management company for all of the damages to the property from the explosion. I didn't have the money to pay for the damages and furnish my apartment so I slept on the floor and of course that's how I ended up with my temporary gig at _Cowbells_.

I've been incredibly lucky in the last year to have so many wonderful people come into my life. But since receiving this wonderful gift, I haven't had the opportunity to actually appreciate and enjoy the comforts of my newly renovated and furnished home. I've been strangely cowardly after my breakup with Joe and hiding out at Les and Bobby's place.

Tonight was my first evening in my place. In fact, it was the first time since I've seen Monster since New Year's. So who is Monster you may be wondering. Monster would be my son but most people would probably refer to him as a fern. Monster used to be my one constant companion. The woman at the nursery told me, he would be one of the easiest plants to ever care for — next to impossible to kill, she said.

Total bullshit because most people who meet Monster ask me why I don't just chuck him since he was dying. I resent the fact that people would say that to my face. I mean, would you walk up to a mother with a pig-nosed baby and say, "Ew, your child looks like a pig?" No! You would lie through your stinking teeth and tell them how precious their bundle of joy is.

And, I happen to think Monster is beautiful and a true survivor. But I am ashamed to admit, I am a horrible mother. During my shameless depression, I've neglected to come home and check on him. He was once flourishing under the care of Ella, Ranger's building manager, while my apartment was under construction. And now his limbs were wilting once again and browning along the edges.

I stared at the big empty bed ahead of me, terrified to move forward. Had I really messed up my life and made all of the wrong decisions? Joe and I had an awful fight over the holidays which resulted in us breaking up which had me hooking up with Ranger for one amazing night. In my moment of pure lust and confusion over what I thought was something real between me and Ranger, I'd gotten lost in a fantasy.

But Ranger had always been up front with me. He's never led me astray offering me something that he wasn't willing to give. And the one thing that I mistakenly thought he'd give me was him — I mean all of him. Ranger's told me repeatedly that he doesn't do relationships. That his life doesn't have room for a relationship and that his love comes with a condom and not a ring. So upon our return to Trenton, he made it clear to me that he didn't want anything further from me and I should mend my relationship with Joe.

And I know, you probably want to say "what a jerk!" and trust me I said that plenty in several different ways. But he's always been up front and honest with me, it was my own damned fault for living in a fantasy world thinking that he'd fallen head over heels and was willing to change his outlook on relationships for someone like me.

Well, after he told me to fix things with Joe, I did just that. And then come New Year's, Joe dropped the bomb on me. He told me that he had been offered a job with the FBI in Washington, D.C., asked me to move with him, and then proposed to me. Some days I feel like I made the biggest mistake of my life declining his proposal.

I did love the man. And any woman would count herself lucky being with a sexy, tall, dark and handsome Italian man. But I just couldn't bring myself to say yes so I watched Joe walk out of my life and follow his dreams of joining the Bureau in D.C.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Alyssa," I muttered to myself. "It's not like you haven't slept in a bed by yourself before. What are you so scared of? Come on you can do this!" I tried encouraging myself as an involuntary shiver ran down my spine.

I willed my feet to slowly take a few steps closer towards the bed. When I finally reached the foot of the bed, I collapsed to the floor in the fetal position and began to weep. You're probably thinking "what a coward" or "what the fuck is wrong with her?" because trust me I was thinking the same thing. Lately, I've been feeling hormonal and it's been quite annoying.

"Babe," Ranger whispered in my ear and lifted me into his arms.

"Ranger?" I sniffled. "What the fuck are you doing here? How long have you been sitting there in the dark?" I asked shifting my eyes towards the armchair in the corner, knowing that when Ranger furnished my bedroom he included that armchair for his purposes of scaring me shitless in the middle of the night.

"I needed to talk to you."

"This late at night?" I asked pushing myself away from the comfort of his embrace.

"Babe, I just wanted to see you."

_Pft._ You walk out without a single word and have the nerve to claim you want to see me? Whatever.

"Babe, I was called in for a last minute contract. There was no time to call you and I had to go offline."

Shit…I guess I said that out loud.

"Ranger, it's late. I'm really tired. Whatever you have to talk about, can it just wait until tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Ok, well, you know how to let yourself out," I responded standing up and brushed off the invisible dirt off my shorts.

"Babe," Ranger said hesitantly reached out to me but instead turned around and disappeared into thin air.

My heart fell but that's what I wanted, right? So he was giving me what I wanted. I walked over to my nightstand and picked up my phone and dialed out.

"Manny."

"Hey, Manny. Are you done with your shift yet?" I asked quietly.

"Bomber!" he replied in a surprised tone. "Yep, just about to leave Rangeman. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, um…just wondering if you wanted to come over and hang out for a bit. Maybe watch a movie?" Or maybe, spend the night so that I'm not in this godforsaken apartment alone.

"Sure, I'll be over in fifteen. Need me to pick up anything on the way?"

I shook my head, "Nope. I've got popcorn and the _Terminator_ box set."

I could hear his grin over the receiver, "Have I told you how perfect you are?"

I smiled back, "Not lately but you know a girl can never get tired of being told that."

"Well, you are."

_Click._

Was it that difficult to just say "goodbye" before disconnecting a call? Sheesh.

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

And being the reliable Rangeman that he was, Manny showed up at my door exactly fifteen minutes after he hung up the phone. Before his knuckles came in contact with my door to knock, I yanked the door open and threw myself into his arms.

Maybe I should ask Bobby to run some blood tests on me to see what the hell was wrong with me because obviously my hormones are all out of whack. I was feeling depressed one minute, angry the next, needy, and hysterical at random times in the day. I don't remember the last time I've felt this needy but ever since Joe packed up his things for D.C. and Ranger stopped answering my calls. I've just been finding it difficult to be alone which was weird because I spent most of my life alone.

"You ok, Alyssa?" Manny asked returning my embrace.

"Yeah, perfect. Thanks for coming over. I know you probably want to go home after working all day."

"You know I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to spend time with my favorite ticking bomb," he grinned.

I punched him softly in his rock hard abs and pulled him towards the couch.

He sat down, pulling me into his lap and brushed my hair out of my face. "Truthfully, what's wrong? I know you've been shacking up with Santos and Brown the past couple of weeks. What's going on?"

I laid my head down on his shoulder, "I don't know. I just can't seem to handle being alone lately. I think I may have a chemical imbalance or maybe I've hit my head one too many times."

He kissed the top of my head, "Well, you know I'm always here whenever you need. Any time. Any day."

"I know. Thank you," I kissed his jawline. "Now let's stuff our faces with greasy popcorn and learn important tactics to prepare us for a future robot uprising."

"You truly are the perfect woman," Manny grinned at me and threw his arms around my shoulder.

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

"Morning," Manny smiled up at me as I propped my head up on my hands and gazed into his eyes.

We apparently fell asleep during the movie and somehow I managed to crawl on top of him in the night.

"Morning," I blushed slightly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you." _Liar._

The corner of his lips twitched, "You're not a very good liar."

I shrugged. "That's a good thing though, isn't it? I mean who would want to be friends with a person who's an excellent liar? This way you'll always know what to expect."

"Hate to break it to you, Alyssa. But with you, everything is unexpected."

I stuck my tongue out at him and sat up straddling his waist. "So are we going to do some car shopping today or what?"

We jumped back a little startled as the front door slammed shut and Manny hands were already going for his utility belt for his gun, no doubt. I turned my head and found a very pissed off Ranger standing by the door. Manny shot up quickly and shoved me off of him causing me to land hard on my ass.

"Ow!" I cried out.

"Oh sorry, Alyssa," Manny turned quickly to help me back up clumsily.

"I'm fine," I swatted at his hands as he fumbled about obviously flustered in Ranger's presence with me. "Stop breaking into my apartment, Ranger. Ever heard of knocking? What good is a security system if you keep breaking in?"

"It wasn't armed," his unwavering eyes trained on Manny.

"Alyssa, I should head home and get cleaned up. I'll be back in a couple of hours if you still want me to help you look for a car."

"I do. Thanks, Manny," I tiptoed and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

He blushed and stumbled backwards grabbing his utility belt off of the floor and nodded at Ranger before exiting. Traitor.

I slumped back onto the couch and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Babe, so I see you've moved from my cousin onto Manny."

I grabbed the TV remote and flipped it to the Cartoon Network ignoring Ranger.

"Babe, are you ignoring me?" he asked taking a seat next to me.

I turned to him angrily, "Are you going to always have a problem with me being friends with your men?"

His unreadable blank face was slipped into place.

"I don't see how it's any of your business what I do with my personal life and the personal lives of your men. I don't think I should have to explain myself every single time I call up a friend and invite them over for some popcorn and a movie."

"You could call me."

I scoffed at him, "You? Eating popcorn and watching a movie? I didn't think superheroes did that kind of stuff."

"I'm a normal man, Babe."

"You're far from normal, Ranger. But like I said, is this going to start becoming a problem? Because if it is, maybe it's not such a good idea for me to be working at Rangeman."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me into his chest pressing his lips up against mine. Ranger's lips were like magic. This man had no flaws in the kissing department. He was sex on legs.

I let out an unlady-like moan, "Ranger, stop."

Let's not forget that this man slept with me and sent me off to be in the arms of another man like I was just a play thing.

"You said you needed to talk yesterday, so talk," I shoved myself off of him trying to retain what was left of my dignity.

"It's more of a favor."

My eyes widened in delight. Ranger rarely asked the likes of me for favors it was always the other way around. Because let's face it, I don't have much to offer a man who practically has everything — skills the average man could only dream of having, the looks, a successful profitable business, and the respect of people all around him that could make even the Dalai Lama jealous.

His lip curled up slightly in amusement at my excitement. "It's my younger sister."

My smile quickly morphed into a nose scrunch.

"I think she's in some kind of trouble but she won't confide in me."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Talk to her."

"What makes you think that she'll talk to me? I'm not what you would call a great gal pal. I tune out half of the stuff Misty tells me."

"Babe."

"Ask Misty."

"Babe."

"What about Lula?"

"Babe."

"Connie?"

_Silence._

"Ella?"

_Silence._

"The new cute brunette waitress that the just started at Pino's all the guys have been drooling over?"

His eyebrows furrowed slightly indicating to me that he was less than amused at me brushing him off.

"Fine. I'll talk to her but I can't guarantee anything. Now you need to leave so that I can get in my Saturday morning cartoons, get cleaned up and dressed before Manny comes to get me."

"Babe, are you and Manny—"

"—No," I cut him off before he could say anything further. "Joe and I just broke up. What makes you think that I'm the type of person to just throw myself at the next suitor?"

"You and the cop broke up?"

I looked up at him in amazement, "Where have you been, Batman? Living under a rock? We've been over for more than two weeks now. It's been the number one hot topic of the Burg Grapevine. There's all sorts of different variations of why Joe left town and the botched proposal. Some of the reasons are actually quite amusing. You should start catching up."

"Babe, I've been out of the country living in a jungle for the past couple of weeks. I'm not plugged into the Burg Grapevine yet."

I frowned at him, "I'm sure that Tank would've filled you in on the latest Bomber news."

He shook his head, "Tank doesn't gossip, Babe. Last I heard was that he's joined the FBI down in Langley. And a 'congratulations' was in order for the two of you, but I came back and found you half naked with my cousin and company medic."

"I didn't accept his proposal obviously and he moved on without me," I shrugged my shoulders.

"You ok?" he slid in closer to me.

"I'm fine. We weren't good for each other. He deserves better and now he's living the dream he was chasing before he even met me. It was for the best."

I sat back and quickly tried to change the mood settling in, "Anyways, Bobby and Les have been really supportive and great friends. However, Les snores like a hyena and I strongly disapprove of the women he brings home. The man should have some standards. Bobby's going to make a wonderful wife someday," I grinned. "That man can cook."

"Babe, I'm glad that they could be there for you."

Yeah, because you weren't and you ran off.

"Babe, I'm on contract with the Government. They can call me at a moment's notice and have me shipped out of the country within hours."

"I know."

"This is why my life doesn't allow for relationships."

_Stop fucking reminding me._ "I don't know why you keep telling me that. Nobody asked for a relationship with you," I tried to casually reply to his remark.

Standing up from the couch, I headed into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee and dropped a couple of frozen toaster waffles into the toaster.

"Babe," Ranger followed me and turned me around, pinning me up against the counter.

I sighed loudly, "Ranger, I don't want anything from you but your friendship. All I ask of you is to be my friend. I'm not interested in a relationship right now either. I miss Joe. He hasn't even bothered to call me since he's left town."

The toaster popped out two brown crisp waffles. I pulled out a jar of peanut butter from the cupboard and slabbed on a generous portion onto each piece and grabbed a banana off of the counter and sliced them on top. I don't know where those bananas came from.

Now typically fruit would just be too much of a healthy food to consume for breakfast. But I felt that I needed to add something a rabbit would eat to my waffles with Ranger staring at me prepare my breakfast.

"I would offer you some but I'm pretty sure your response would just be, _'Babe, that stuff could kill you,'_" I mocked his voice.

"Babe," he said, flashing his rare but brilliant 300-watt smile that could easily melt hearts.

"Seriously, Ranger. You need to go," I said, taking a bite of my waffle. "Next time call, knock, whatever, just stop breaking into the place. Besides, I need to get ready for my hot date with Manny today," I smiled.

I was about to take another bite of my piece of heaven when he startled me by grabbing me and roughly pulling me into him for a searing kiss. The waffle slipped out of my hands and landed peanut butter side on my chest.

"Ranger!" I cried out in agony peeling the waffle off of my chest. "You just ruined my breakfast!"

He grinned and bent down licking the peanut butter off of my chest and like lightening he had me in his arms and suddenly pressed down on the bed. Great so my first time lying on this new bed I had Ranger pressed up against me, ravaging me with kisses, I thought in annoyance. Wait — what was wrong with that again?

I moaned instinctively and wrapped my legs around his torso losing myself in his soft kisses, warm touch, and comforting aroma. Images of our forlorn night of lovemaking flashed in my head. Falling in love with Ranger was too easy, not to mention dangerous. I could easily fall right back into this game but honestly I'm not sure if I could take the heartbreak.

"Ranger, leave," I said firmly pulling my head back away from his.

"Have dinner with me on seven tonight?"

I shook my head, "I don't know when Manny and I will be done today and I don't want to cut my day short so that I can make it to dinner with you on time. Raincheck?"

He gave me a curt nod and walked out of the room without a second glance. Besides, how could I forget about the beautiful curvaceous woman who seems to be currently occupying his time? I may be the type to put up with a lot of bullshit but being a woman in a long string of others is not something I will not stand for.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Previous Chapter: **__"Have dinner with me on seven tonight?"_

_I shook my head, "I don't know when Manny and I will be done today and I don't want to cut my day short so that I can make it to dinner with you on time. Raincheck?"_

_He gave me a curt nod and walked out of the room without a second glance. Besides, how could I forget about the beautiful curvaceous woman who seems to be currently occupying his time? I may be the type to put up with a lot of bullshit but being a woman in a long string of others is not something I will not stand for._

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"What's he doing here?" I asked opening the door.

"Well, howdy to you too, little lady," Ram smiled, entering my apartment and planted a kiss on my cheek as he passed by.

"He's our ride," Manny stated. "He's heading downtown today so he agreed to drop us off at the dealership. This way we won't have to drive back separately."

Leave it to the men of Rangeman to make all of these logical plans.

"So, Manny, tells me that the bossman caught you guys in a tangled up position this morning," Ram snickered.

Ram would be what I call the sexy cowboy. He's a former Army Ranger sniper who keeps begging me to let him take me to the gun range so he can give me some pointers.

"I didn't say tangled," Manny grit out.

"Yeah, and you abandoned me, you traitor!" I shot back at him.

"I thought you were handling everything fairly well and didn't want to interrupt your groove," he retorted.

"Punk," I muttered.

"Did he give you any trouble?"

I shook my head, "He just wanted to ask me something. Can we go now? I'm anxious to get behind the wheel of my new car. I'm thinking one of those cute little SMART cars. I think it would totally be adorable if I could find one in pink. What do you think?" I asked excitedly.

They both shot me a look and shoved me towards the door.

"Thank, God, you have me watching out for you," Manny exclaimed as he punched in the code to alarm the system before shutting the door.

Some security system, huh? Everyone seems to know how to get in and out of my apartment with ease.

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

I stood stoically in front of a little red Mini Cooper convertible.

"No," Manny said into my ear.

"Why not?" I pouted stomping my feet. Ok, I know it's a bit immature but like I said, I'm not feeling 100% like myself lately. I stomped my foot childishly, "I really like it. It's cute and the top comes down. It would be so fun to drive during the summer."

"If it even lasts that long," he chuckled.

I punched him in the arm even though I half agreed with him. With my luck, I'll be glad if this car makes it a month.

"Besides, how are you supposed to pick up skips in this thing? I don't think I can even fit in that tuna can."

He was right. The last time I tried to pick up an above average weight skip was Harry Shoemaker. I had a hell of a time cramming him into my Merkur which then required the help of two grown officers to help pry him out of the vehicle. I hate it when men were right.

"Stupid job," I muttered.

"If you really want this one, the Rangeman fleet are also at your disposal since you're an employee. You could always switch your ride out for a Rangeman SUV when you go out to chase skips. I'm sure Ranger wouldn't mind."

"No, the last thing I want to do is be reliant on Ranger and Rangeman."

He frowned and then swung his arm over my shoulders walking me down a line of cars on display. "Come on, I'm sure we can find something you like that would be practical for picking up skips."

I spotted a tubby man in his late forties with an awful comb over and 1970s brown blazer making his way towards us.

"Man, I hate car salesmen," I grumbled burying my face into Manny's chest.

"Hello, folks. Is there anything that I can help you out with?" he said slightly out of breath as he approached us.

"We're looking for a nice reliable and safe car for my wife, here," Manny flashed him a brilliant smile as he squeezed me tightly to him.

I shot him a look of annoyance before quickly stuffing my hand into his tight jean pockets to hide my naked finger. I know, who cares if this slime ball thinks we're lying or not but something inside of me just felt guilty about it.

"I think I've got just what you're looking for over here," he turned around and motioned for us to follow him around the lot.

"Honey, save some of the friskiness for later," Manny winked at me as his hand slid down to my ass and gave it a quick squeeze.

I smacked his abs defiantly but I'm pretty sure that I fractured a finger in the process. "You're the one that lied and said we were married! I need to hide the fact that I'm not wearing a ring," I said quietly.

"We'll get him to pay better attention to me if he thinks that I'm your husband," he said kissing my cheek.

"Whatever you say, just tell me when and where to sign the papers so I can drive off the lot with a new cute car," I grinned at him.

Four and a half long hours later I was the proud owner of a slightly used blue Jeep Liberty. When the salesman placed the keys in my hands, I threw my arms around Manny and he leaned in and gave me a heart-stopping kiss. I melted into his body as every fiber of my being screamed for more.

We both finally pulled away reluctantly and breathless.

"Wow. I wish me and the Mrs. still had that kind of passion in our marriage," the salesman chuckled causing me to blush.

"It's hard not to have that kind of passion for this one," Manny boasted and shook his hand.

I don't know where that kiss came from but Manny proved to be a great haggler. He asked all of the right questions and got me a great deal. I mean this was no cutesy car but it was much better than the hunk of junks I've been driving lately.

We walked towards my brand new car when a tan truck fell from the sky and landed directly on top of my shiny new Jeep. My grip tightened around Manny's arm as his whole body began to shake from laughter.

"Don't fucking say anything," I growled angrily.

Another one bites the dust and I've only owned it for one whole minute.

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

Two long hours later, Manny had successfully gotten the Manager to give me another car with an upgrade. They had the nerve to try to tell me that the car was now within my possession so that I would have to file with the insurance company and wait until I got my insurance check to purchase another car.

I mean it was their car that fell off of the roof and totaled mine! They were lucky I didn't sue them. What if it were just a few seconds later, I would've ended up a flat pancake inside of the car. The idiots placed the new showcase vehicle onto one of those ramps on the roof and forgot to lock the car into place as they began tilting it. The car slipped and took a nose dive into my car.

And of course that's exactly what Manny argued. He pulled out all of the stops and threatened a lawsuit and carried on about the safety of his wife. I should marry this man for real.

He put his arm around me protectively as we walked towards my burgundy Jeep Cherokee. A few feet from the car, he plucked the keys out of my hands.

"It's probably best if I drive," he grinned.

I frowned at him wanting to argue back but he was probably right. I wanted to at least see the car parked in my lot before something else happened to it.

I slid into the passenger seat right as my stomach let out a hideous growl.

"Hungry?" Manny quirked an eyebrow at me.

"No, that's the sound of content," I replied sarcastically.

He laughed, "Let's go get some grub."

We pulled into the parking lot of _Annabelle's_ a quaint Contemporary American restaurant. And as the Parking Gods are always forever in Rangemen's favor, Manny found a spot next to the front door. Me? The Gods were never in my favor, I always ended up parking a couple of blocks away or next to the smelly dumpster.

Manny put his arm around me and led us into the restaurant. Whoever said chivalry was dead never met Manny. He was a true gentleman from helping me with my coat to pulling out my chair.

We ordered a bottle of wine and I ordered a rare filet mignon seared foie gras with sautéed mushrooms and substituted the spring greens for scalloped potatoes. What? I was hungry and I think I'm slightly allergic to food with green coloring. Manny ordered the Beef Bourguignon with baby turnips and carrots. You better believe I was going to steal a bite from him. The short ribs that is — he can have free rein on the turnips and carrots. Who the heck eats turnips anyways?

Manny held up his glass of wine, "Let's toast to your new car and pray for its long and prosperous life."

"Here. Here," I agreed and clinked glasses.

His eyes twinkled as he watched me set my glass down.

I reached across the table and held his hand, "Manny…about what happened earlier—"

"—I know. I'm sorry. I got carried away in the moment," he cut me off.

I chewed on my bottom lip nervously, "You know that I care for you. I-I'm just not really looking for something right now, and I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"I couldn't agree more, Alyssa," he nodded his head. "Not that I wouldn't mind having something more with you. But I know you've been through a lot and your friendship means the world to me."

I smiled warmly at him. Truly this man was a jewel.

I heard someone clear their throat next to us. I looked up and saw Ranger and his Latina Goddess standing behind Manny.

"Ranger," I said startled pulling my hand back from Manny's and shoved them under the table.

"Babe," he greeted me and nodded to Manny.

"Alyssa, it's so good to see you again," Ranger's date smiled amiably at me. God I wanted to hate her.

But I think my anger should mostly be directed at Ranger. Didn't he invite me to have dinner with him in his apartment tonight only to turn around and go on a date with Ms. Perfect Tits Carmen.

"Carmen," I returned the smile.

"Would you like a table seated together?" the hostess asked.

"That would be wonderful!" Carmen exclaimed clinging onto Ranger's arm.

"Babe, would you mind? We wouldn't want to interrupt you and Manny," his eyes narrowed in Manny's direction.

I swear I saw Manny shrink down a few inches.

"That's fine," I rubbed the back of my neck nervously.

"This is so wonderful!" Carmen bubbled and gave Ranger a kiss on the cheek.

I could feel my blood boiling and made a mental note to keep all sharp objects out of my reach in fear that I would end up stabbing the chick in the eye.

This was going to be an obnoxiously long dinner.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Previous Chapter: **__"This is so wonderful!" Carmen bubbled and gave Ranger a kiss on the cheek. _

_ I could feel my blood boiling and made a mental note to keep all sharp objects out of my reach in fear that I would end up stabbing the chick in the eye. _

_ This was going to be an obnoxiously long dinner._

* * *

**CHAPTER 6**

"I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to talk to you more the last time we ran into each other, Alyssa," Carmen bubbled. "I've wanted to meet you for some time now. Carlos has told me so many wonderful things about you."

Carlos. She calls him _Carlos_. Gag me with a spoon. I inched closer to Manny as he shifted uncomfortably. I kicked him in the shin and shot him a look, hoping his ESP was flipped on at that moment as I beamed the message if he ran out on me during dinner, I'd hunt him down and he'd pay.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could say the same about you, Carmen," I said politely and shot a look at _Carlos_ but his face gave away nothing.

"Please call me Cami. Everyone else does. But that's not really surprising. My brother's a pretty private person. And you practically have to force words out of him."

Wait — stop the presses! Did she just say _"brother?"_

"Brother?" I asked perking up.

"Yes," she paused and her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, my! I suppose I didn't really introduce myself properly. I'm Ranger's younger and more vibrant sister," she smiled.

Well, now don't I feel sheepish. This whole time I've been cursing Ranger in my head for hanging around his sister!

"I'm saddened by the fact I missed seeing you over the holidays. My nieces and nephew won't stop raving about how _cool_ you are." She hesitated before continuing, "My boyfriend wanted to go to Vegas over the holidays and insisted that I go with him."

I could see a slight uneasiness pass through her eyes and then I saw the tale tell sign of a dusting discoloration along her jawline that was carefully hidden under a layer of makeup.

"I know what it feels like to be pressured by a significant other," I offered. "My last ex's family had a very hard time accepting me but he insisted that I join him for Thanksgiving. They ordered Chinese take-out for me and invited the restaurant owners to join us so that I would feel comfortable."

Her mouth dropped open in horror, "No way!"

I nodded and chuckled, "Yes way. I knew something odd was going to happen but I just couldn't say no to him. Sometimes it's hard to say no to someone when you're so close, you know."

She nodded her head in agreement, "I begged MItch to come home with me for Christmas, but he said that it was important that he went to Vegas."

"Boys can be a pain," I smirked digging into my filet mignon and moaned loudly. I cut off a piece and shoved it in Manny's face, "So good, try it."

Manny nervously leaned in and took the piece of steak off my fork and chewed slowly. Ranger sat quietly as he kept a watchful eye on Manny.

"Are you two…?" Carmen asked.

"Oh, no. We're just friends," I smiled hugging Manny's arm. "We just pretended to be married today so that we could get a good deal on my latest wheels."

"Oh how exciting!" she giggled, chewing carefully on her salad.

Ugh. She eats like a rabbit just like her brother. But then again, if I started eating like a rabbit too, maybe I'd look more like her. Nah. Steak is good.

"Say, Carmen, my best friend Misty is flying back in from Paris tonight, and we were thinking about doing some serious shoe shopping and grabbing dinner tomorrow if you'd like to join us."

"That sounds wonderful!" her face lit up like the Fourth of July.

Ranger shot a look in my direction and I swear I saw a slight twinkle in his eye as he continued to graze on his plate full of grass.

We continued dinner and ended a great meal with a delicious dessert. Ok, _I_ finished the meal off with dessert. Everyone else was a bunch of sticks in the mud.

"Thanks for dinner, Ranger," I thanked him for footing the bill as we stepped out into the parking lot.

"Manny, take Carmen back to Rangeman," Ranger ordered.

"Yes, sir," Manny responded, taking the keys to Ranger's Porsche.

"It was great meeting you again, Alyssa. I'll see you tomorrow," Carmen smiled and gave me a tight squeeze and followed Manny to Ranger's Porsche.

"Nice ride, Babe," Ranger said walking over to the driver side.

"Thanks," I responded cautiously. "What do you think you're doing?"

He opened the door and slid in, "Taking you home."

I yanked the door open. "How did you get in the car if I have the keys," I asked searching my purse for the keys.

"Babe," Ranger smirked, inserting the key into the ignition.

"Why is it that I buy a new car and nobody lets me drive the darn thing?" I pouted.

"Babe, are you forgetting the car that you left in the Rangeman garage?"

"That was a total accident!" I protested. "Sorry about that by the way," I muttered.

"Only you, Babe," he amused.

"Want to talk about what happened at the dealership?"

"You mean me and Manny?" I shifted nervously flashing back to the steamy kiss.

He raised an eyebrow at me as he backed out of the parking space. "You and Manny? I was referring to an accident at the dealership down the street."

"Oh that," I responded quickly, mentally wiping the sweat from my forehead. "It wasn't my fault."

"Babe."

"I'm serious. I was just walking and a car fell out of the sky and BAM! brand new car out of commission. Totally not my fault. I was an innocent bystander."

"You and Manny?" he repeated.

"So…your sister. Why didn't you tell me your sister was in town?"

"You didn't ask."

"How am I supposed to know to ask if I don't know I need to ask?"

"She showed up unannounced."

"And New Year's?"

"She called me when I got back into town depressed about a fight she had with her boyfriend so I agreed to accompany her to the gala."

"Oh," I said quietly.

He grinned, "Jealous?"

"No!" I protested loudly. "She's your sister. Why the hell would I be jealous of your sister, Ranger? That's just sick. You're a sick man," I babbled on.

"You and Manny?" he repeated obviously not wanting to drop the subject.

"Me and Manny, what?" I asked sheepishly.

"What happened with you two at the dealership?"

"Nothing, we posed as husband and wife as I explained at dinner and he helped me get a great deal on the car," I said quickly. "That's it."

He pulled my Jeep into a spot right next to the entrance of the apartment building. How does that happen? It's nine in the evening and most of the residents who live here are elderly so usually after six the lot is already filled. Maybe I should meditate more or volunteer my time more often to help boost my karma.

Ranger turned off the engine and removed the key.

I placed my hand on his arm before he could turn to get out of the car. "Ranger, you do realize that your sister is covering up bruises, right?"

"How can you be sure?" his jaw hardened slightly.

"You didn't notice the slight bruising on her jawline that was covered with make up?"

He didn't respond.

"Ranger, she's a gorgeous young girl and she's covered from head to toe. Her hair is down, she's wearing a high turtle neck with long sleeves and pants. She doesn't seem like the type that would dress that conservatively. Throughout dinner she nervously pulled at her sleeves and kept checking herself in her compact. Call me crazy but she doesn't seem to be a vain girl either."

He leaned back in his seat and ran his hand down his face.

"Hey," I turned and squeezed his arm tightly, "it's going to be ok. I'll talk to her tomorrow and see if I can get her to talk to me. She's reaching out for help, Ranger. She may not flat out ask you for it, but she's here and that's a start."

He slammed his hand down on the steering wheel.

I could feel the frustration radiating off of him. He didn't have to say what he was thinking in words. You could just feel it. "Ranger, you're her brother. Sometimes it's hard to pick up signs when you're so close to someone. Besides, I have experience with this kind of stuff. I grew up witnessing quite a bit of domestic abuse," I hesitated before continuing, "and the women who try to hide the evidence of it." I reached over and opened the door, "Come on. Let's go upstairs and crack open a bottle of wine. I think Bobby left me a bottle in the cupboard. We can chat more upstairs."

Ranger disarmed the alarm system and did his usual sweep of the apartment before announcing it was safe to enter. I shook my head and headed into the kitchen and poured us each a glass of wine and headed to the couch where Ranger had already parked himself.

I handed him a glass and sat down on the far end of the couch opposite him keeping enough space between us so that I wouldn't be tempted to inappropriately launch myself into him. We spent the evening quietly discussing how to approach the sensitive subject matter with Carmen and how Ranger shouldn't turn into caveman and start taking matter into his own hands.

Then the conversation turned to what I had been up to the last couple of weeks that he was gone. I told him that his nephew and nieces helped me realize how much I needed to give back to the youth. So after Joe left, I went down to the _Stark Community Center_ and signed up to teach hip hop dance classes to the youth.

We polished off the bottle of wine and spoke comfortably to each other the rest of the evening. For a split second, I felt a hint of the Carlos I got to know back in December emerging to the surface again.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Previous Chapter: **__Then the conversation turned to what I had been up to the last couple of weeks that he was gone. I told him that his nephew and nieces helped me realize how much I needed to give back to the youth. So after Joe left, I went down to the Stark Community Center and signed up to teach hip hop dance classes to the youth. _

_We polished off the bottle of wine and spoke comfortably to each other the rest of the evening. For a split second, I felt a hint of the Carlos I got to know back in December emerging to the surface again._

* * *

**CHAPTER 7**

I woke up in a cocoon of warmth tucked into the fluffy softness of a Cumulous Cloud on a warm Spring Day. I sucked in a deep breath of content as the scent of Bvlgari filled my nose.

My eyes flew open in a flurry of panic. "Ranger," I rasped out.

"Babe," he stirred behind me and nuzzled the back of my neck.

"Ranger," I called out to him a little more urgently. "What are you doing in my bed?"

"We had a little too much to drink so we went to bed."

"What is this '_we'_?" I questioned trying to turn around and face him.

His muscles tensed around me and his voice dropped a slight pitch lower. "Babe, I find you half naked with my cousin and medic and then in the arms of one of my other men but you question why you're in my arms?"

"They're my friends," I replied adamantly as I successfully turned to face him.

"And you don't consider me a friend?"

I bit down on my lower lip and thought for a minute. "No, I don't — at least not at the moment."

"Babe? Then what would you consider me?"

I crinkled my nose, "A thorn in my side. A fucking prick. A coward."

"Coward?"

"Yes, a coward," I said pushing myself up into a sitting position. "You were my friend, Ranger — one of my best friends. And then you didn't want to deal with me anymore so you tossed me into the arms of another man and disappeared without even letting me know that you were leaving. I don't know why you did it, maybe it's because you didn't want to face what had happened to us over the holidays or maybe you just wanted to move on from it. But someone who doesn't take responsibility for his actions to me is a fucking coward."

"Babe, what would you have me do? Morelli could give you what you need," he replied sitting up to face me.

"And what do you know about what I need?" I raised my voice, "I don't even know what the hell I need. What makes you think you know?"

"Babe, he proposed to you," his voice dropped down close to a whisper.

"You're right, he did. And then that's when I realized he wasn't what I needed. Joe wants that perfect life with the housewife and 2.5 kids. I thought that's what I wanted for a long time too especially when I almost married The Dick. But I realized I just want to belong somewhere — to be a part of something special. With Joe, I was never going to have that. His family would never understand me and accept me. Hell, Joe, couldn't even understand me and accept me for everything that I was half of the time."

"Babe—" he inched closer to me.

I raised my hand to stop him from advancing. "—when I came to that realization, I wanted to run to my best friend, but you weren't there. You vanished into thin air without even saying goodbye. When we returned to Trenton, Lester had told me you were in the wind and there was no telling when you'd be back. I needed you to be there for me but instead I got your cousin and your men. They've been a blessing in disguise and have made me feel welcomed and at home."

"Babe, I didn't mean to walk out on you. When Morelli proposed, I thought it would be best to give you two space without my interference. I wasn't aware that you would turn him down. I heard you tell him that you loved him."

"Because I do, Ranger. Just not the way he wants me to."

He nodded, "Babe, about what happened on Christmas. That was a onetime deal. My intention was not to abandon you but you know my life doesn't lend itself to relationships—"

"—that's bullshit, Ranger," I cut him off. "Did you ever stop to ask what I wanted? How did you know that I even wanted a relationship with you or are you that self-absorbed? All I ever wanted was for you to be my friend and you couldn't even be that to me. I don't want the hot roll in the hay or the stolen kisses. I want my friend. I want that person who I can rely on to be there for me. You didn't even give me a chance to tell you what I want and how I feel about the situation. You just made the decision for me."

The tears began rolling down my eyes at lightning speed. Damn these hormonal emotions of mine. Maybe my time of the month was approaching rapidly.

"Babe," Ranger gathered me into his arms. "You're right. I should have been there for you."

I sniffled, "Well, your status of best friend has been replaced by Lester. Now you're just boss, mentor, and slight acquaintance."

"Babe," he chuckled softly. "I'll work harder to regain my title back," he gently pushed me back down into the bed and covered my mouth with his.

"Ranger," I moaned pushing him away. "That's not appropriate and you know it."

"What about Lester?" he asked nipping at my ear. "Is it appropriate for him?"

"Yes."

He lifted his head and gazed into my eyes. I saw a slight hint of jealousy dancing in his eyes. "Babe?"

I flashed him a wide toothy grin, "You're too easy, bossman. But seriously, you need to quit it. I'm not the kind of girl that gives away the goods for free."

"Babe, I never thought you were," his eyebrows furrowed with concern.

"I didn't say you did. I'm just reminding you that I'm not that kind of girl and you need to quit it. Be respectful, man. It's not like we're close friends or something. You're just a slight acquaintance remember?"

He flashed me his beautiful 300-watt smile that could easily knock you into a blissful coma. "Do friends shower together?"

I grinned back at him, "Good question, next time I see my friend, Les, I'll ask him."

"Playing with fire, Babe."

"Oh, Dear Ranger. I thought we established that I'm not afraid to get burnt after I catapulted myself into a burning apartment."

"Babe, you're a little scary."

"The better to keep you on your toes, My Dear," I smiled a wicked grin mimicking the Big Bad Wolf.

I let out a squelch as he tackled me back down onto the bed.

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

After effectively crushing the shoe sale at Macy's, Misty, Cami and I began heading towards the food court to grab some grub.

"So where do you go to school, Cami?" Misty asked taking a bite of her rabbit food.

"I'm studying Business Law in Princeton," she replied over her big green guinea pig food.

I swear these people do not know how to live, I thought taking a bite out of my greasy double bacon cheeseburger with a side of fries and a strawberry shake.

"Wow your parents sure know how to produce some smart children — Celia being a doctor, Ranger owning his own Security Company and then you becoming a lawyer. That's some good genes," I said over my shake.

She smiled, "We're just very lucky to have a wonderful supportive family."

I nodded in agreement and reached for a fry when it was snatched from under me and someone pulled up a chair next to me. I looked up at the smug face staring back at me as he inserted the fry into his mouth.

"Carl," I acknowledged him haughtily.

"Hey, Alyssa," he smiled grabbing at another fry as I smacked his hand away. "You gonna introduce me to your beautiful friend, here?"

I rolled my eyes, "Cami, this is my friend Carl Costanza. Carl, this is Cami, _Ranger's_ _little_ _sister_," I said with emphasis.

Carl reached out and shook Cami's hand before shrinking back into his seat while doing a quick room scan to make sure Ranger wasn't within range of shooting him.

Carl was a uniform for the Trenton Police Department and an old college friend. Carl is mostly a cramp in my ass and the leader of the _Bomber Pool_ at the precinct. The TPD staff take bets on when the next demise of my vehicles would be. He's lucky that I owed him for helping me get through my law classes in school otherwise he'd be a cooked goose.

"What are you doing here at the mall, Carl?" Misty asked, taking a sip of her Fuji water.

"Stopped in for a tux fitting," he said casually, picking up my burger and taking a bite of it.

I glared at him as he washed down the burger with my shake.

"Heard about your little car incident at the dealership," he chortled. "I swear you get more and more creative with time. I would've never thought that even being a possibility for your next car demise. A car falling out of the sky," he shook his head, "real original, Aly."

I smacked him in the arm, "It wasn't my fault!"

"And yet these kind of things only seem to happen to you. You should be real proud though. You helped Sally down in accounting fix her dishwasher."

"Is that why you're here, Carl? To be an ass?"

"Actually, I'm glad I ran into you, Alyssa. I was wondering if you were free the last Saturday of this month."

"Why?" I asked suspiciously.

He shrugged, "There's this Annual TPD Ball and I was wondering if you would come as my date since I can't seem to get ahold of any of my other women. You're kind of my last resort."

"That's how you ask me? You're a jerk," I shoved him.

"I'm joking!" he laughed, pulling me into him and kissed my jawline. "You're the first person I thought of."

"Fine," I replied and returned to my burger.

"Great!" he stood up and snatched another fry and kissed the top of my head. "I'll pick you up at seven and wear something sexy. I've got a bet running with the guys that I can get you to come as my date in a sexy get up. Help a guy out with getting the money for a new flat screen TV, will ya?"

I rolled my eyes, "You better get out of here before I change my mind, Costanza."

He chuckled and began walking away, "See you around. It was nice meeting you, Ranger's sister."

"He's cute," Cami smiled.

"He's an idiot," I replied.

"Aren't all men?" Misty countered.

"Touché," I waved a fry at her and snuck a peek at Carl's ass as he walked away.

Ok so it wasn't that bad. Fucking hormones.

* * *

_Carl Costanza...hook up possibility? _


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: **Oh my! I forgot to post a chapter on Tuesday! I just started a new job this week and have been so excited and focused on that, it's slipped my mind. So I'll be posting 2 chapters today to make it up to you. The second chapter will be posted later in the day. Hope you enjoy it! ~Angie_

_**Previous Chapter: **__I rolled my eyes, "You better get out of here before I change my mind, Costanza."_

_He chuckled and began walking away, "See you around. It was nice meeting you, Ranger's sister."_

"_He's cute," Cami smiled._

"_He's an idiot," I replied._

"_Aren't all men?" Misty countered._

"_Touché," I waved a fry at her and snuck a peek at Carl's ass as he walked away. _

_Ok so it wasn't that bad. Fucking hormones._

* * *

**CHAPTER 8**

"A round of Cosmos for my pretty ladies!" Misty shouted at our regular bartender at _Metro Club_, Jack.

Jack smiled at her as she leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"To the hot ladies of Trenton, tonight may we spend like we don't need the money, dance as if no one were watching, sing as if no one were listening, and live every day as if it were our last," Misty toasted.

"Cheers!" Carmen, Misty and I shouted before clinking our glasses.

Misty downed her drink and waved at Jack for another. "Ladies, I spot something yummy 3 'o clock. It's time for me to get my groove on."

I frowned at her, "Is everything ok between you and Bones?"

A few months ago Misty started dating a Rangeman named Bones. Misty is a beautiful long-legged blond who took flirting to a whole new level. She wasn't the settling down type and then came along Bones. Bones is a former Army Ranger who worked for Rangeman and was first assigned to shadow me because a deranged psychopath, Benito Ramirez, was stalking me and then a turn of events landed me in jail for murder — that's a story for another day.

With the danger levels on high alert, I requested Ranger to keep Misty safe and Bones was assigned to guard her. One thing led to another and apparently Bones weaseled himself somehow into her heart and now they're in domestic bliss living together in her condo in the city.

"Just because I'm in a relationship, Alyssa-dear, doesn't mean that I'm dead," she rolled her eyes grabbing her second Cosmo. "I can look and sometimes touch. No harm no foul."

She strutted her way through the crowd towards a man who was hard to miss in the sea of people, standing at over six feet tall, adorned with tattoos and dressed like he was ready to join a biker rally, not a dance club. Once she approached the man, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss. That Bones has her hooked good, I smiled to myself.

I turned back to Carmen. After an entire day shopping, eating and gabbing about girl stuff when Misty insisted we go out and have a good time dancing.

"So, where'd you get the pretty bruises?" I asked her, cutting right to the chase.

"I-I don't know what you mean," she immediately stuttered as she rubbed her arms self-consciously.

"You know you can talk to me. I won't repeat anything you say to anyone without your permission. Unless you plan on murdering someone, in that case, I'll have to haul you into the police station. Civic duty and all," I joked.

She chewed on her lower lip nervously obviously not amused by my joke.

"Cami, there's a reason why you came home and you're hanging around your brother. Not that I'm accusing you of not genuinely wanting to spend time with your family but there's more to it. You're wearing long sleeves and pants at a nightclub. That's mighty suspicious if you ask me."

She dropped her head, "Mitch is in trouble."

"Your boyfriend? What do you mean he's in trouble? Did he not inflict those bruises?"

"Not all of them," she said carefully. "He loves me. He wouldn't hurt me on purpose, but he has a gambling problem. He owes some really powerful people a lot of money. And last week he disappeared and some men showed up and demanded that I come up with $150,000 for his return," her voice cracked as tears streamed down her eyes.

I gently took her arm and pulled over to one of the VIP booths making eye contact with my friend Pete, the Bouncer. He gave me a little head nod and let us slide into the private booth.

"They roughed me up a bit and told me not to involve the police. They're giving me until the end of the month to come up with the money or they're going to kill him and they've also threatened to go after my family which includes my nieces and nephew. They somehow know everything about me but have made specific instructions to not let my brother know what was going on but to figure out a way to get the money from him. Alyssa, I don't know what to do," she sobbed quietly.

"Cami, you have to let Ranger know. Ranger's bound to come up with a plan to help you out. He loves you and would stop at nothing to take care of any kind of situation you're in."

She nodded, "I know, but I'm scared for my family. If they catch on at all, they'll target my sister's family first. They know where they live and their entire schedule."

"Do you know who the man is that's after your boyfriend?"

She nodded, "His name is Hugo Mosca. I met him in Las Vegas over the holidays."

"Mitch's family is in Vegas?"

She shook her head, "Mitch doesn't have family. He insisted that he had business in Vegas and that he wanted me to come with him. So I lied to my family and said I was spending the holidays with his family," she hung her head in shame.

"Hugo owns a Casino & Resort on the northern side of the Main Vegas Strip and in Atlantic City, and I overheard them arguing one night about money and something about stolen merchandise. He threatened him that if he didn't come up with the money by the end of the year, that he'd pay. They're going to kill him and come after my family, Alyssa," she cried uncontrollably.

I pulled her into my arms and gave her a hug, "I'm going to help you figure this out, Cami, but we're going to have to let Ranger know what's going on. You have to trust him. He helps people in situations like this all of the time and you're his sister and technically he's already involved if Mosca is already threatening your family. He has a right to know."

She sniffled and nodded her head, "You're right. It's just that my brother scares the crap out of me. I'm afraid of what he's going to think and say."

I smiled at her, "I think your brother scares the crap out of everyone."

"Not you."

"That's because I'm not smart enough to act upon my fears like a normal person."

I got another smile from her as she wiped her eyes.

"Besides your brother loves you, he may be a little angry at the time but he'll get over it. Keeping you safe is going to be his number one priority. Let's head home shall we?"

She nodded and we slipped out of the booth. I signaled to Misty that we were heading out as she nodded her head and went back to seducing Bones on the dance floor.

We headed out the door bracing ourselves to face the wrath of Batman.

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

"How could you let yourself get involved with people like that, Carmen?" Ranger roared from his armchair running his hand down the length of his face.

"I'm sorry, Carlos," Cami sobbed. "He said he was going to change and stop for me. He just needed to tie up his loose ends and he was going to get a normal job."

"Cami, losers like him will tell you anything they think you want to hear," he growled, standing up.

"Ranger!" I shouted, stepping up to him. "Yes, Cami made a mistake. We've all made mistakes in our lifetime or continue to make make mistakes in the future when it comes to someone we believe loves us or vice versa. But this back and forth bantering doesn't help anybody. What we need to do is figure out how we're going to handle this situation. And if you don't calm the fuck down, I'll take Cami with me right now and I'll figure out something without your help."

His eyes bore into mine. He was probably trying to decide whether the damages to his building from throwing me out his seventh floor window would be worth the damages and paperwork.

"You're right. I'm sorry," he said, taking me off guard.

I stepped aside as he approached Cami and drew her into his arms, "We'll discuss this at the Staff Meeting in the morning and we'll start laying out the plans for a locate and extract mission. For now, I think we all need some time to decompress."

I nodded my head in agreement.

Cami pulled away, grabbing her purse off of the couch and kissed Ranger on the cheek, _"Te amo, hermano mio." [I love you, big brother.]_

He kissed the top of her head, _"Te amo. Hasta ma__ñ__ana."_ _ [I love you. Until the morning.]_

My heart swelled at the display of sibling affection as I gave Cami a hug and watched her walk out the door to her temporary apartment on three.

I reached over to grab my purse when Ranger stopped me.

"Stay for a while?" he asked.

I nodded and took a seat on the sofa.

"Thank you," he said taking his place next to me.

"There's no need to thank me, Ranger. You know I'd do anything for you and that extends to your family. They were all so good to me."

He pulled me into his lap and held me to his chest, "Cami's always been a wild girl. I knew she'd get herself into a mess at some point. I should've paid closer attention to her. I should've ran a background check on the guy she was seeing."

"She's a smart girl, Ranger. She's just wrapped up in something bad because she's been blinded by love. You can't be there for everyone every waking minute of the day. It's her life and it's hers to control, not yours. But I tell you this," I sat up and looked him dead in the eyes, "once we're about to extract her son of a bitch boyfriend, we need to find a way to convince her he's not right for her or convince him to leave her alone."

His jaw tightened, "That won't be a problem."

"Good because I haven't even met the guy, but I already hate him. And sometimes when a girl is so wrapped up in a relationship, she usually won't learn until something really terrible happens and I don't think Cami's made that realization that this is something terrible."

"Babe," his eyes softened and drew my head in towards his lips.

My lips seared from the warmth of his touch. I would be lying if I didn't miss Ranger's advances but I too am a stupid girl blinded by something she desires and knows is not right.

I pulled away, "I need to get going. It's late."

"Stay," he murmured kissing my neck.

"No, I need to get used to being in my apartment again and we're still not friends," I said firmly, retreating from his lap.

"Babe, it's two in the morning. Will you be able to make it in on time for the meeting at seven?" he wrapped his hand around my wrist and held a twinkle in his eye.

This man plays dirty. He knows how much I hate mornings and love my sleep.

"Fine, but I'm sleeping on the couch," I retorted.

"It's your back, Babe," the corner of his lip twitched as he headed towards the closet and pulled out extra bedding for me. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me," he leaned in and gave me a kiss.

I watched his beautifully toned ass disappear into the bedroom. Boy, did I ever want to change my mind.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Previous Chapter: **__"Babe, it's two in the morning. Will you be able to make it in on time for the meeting at seven?" he wrapped his hand around my wrist and held a twinkle in his eye._

_ This man plays dirty. He knows how much I hate mornings and love my sleep. _

_ "Fine, but I'm sleeping on the couch," I retorted. _

_ "It's your back, Babe," the corner of his lip twitched as he headed towards the closet and pulled out extra bedding for me. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me," he leaned in and gave me a kiss._

_ I watched his beautifully toned ass disappear into the bedroom. Boy, did I ever want to change my mind._

* * *

**Chapter 9**

"They have to be hiding him in Vegas," Les spoke up angrily. "We've asked around to some of our informants in Atlantic City and they say Mosca's been out in Vegas the last week. I'll fly there right now and bring the bastard back."

"You can't just go in there guns blazing, Les," Cami cried. "He says he has people watching the family 24/7 and if anything seems off, he'll strike."

Les slammed his fist down on the conference table.

"Les, getting angry doesn't make the situation better, but I agree with you that we should check out Mosca's place of business in Vegas. At the same time we can't draw any attention to ourselves in case he's not bluffing about having eyes and ears watching everyone involved with Cami," I surprisingly stood up from my seat and walked towards the front of the room and took charge.

"Here's my proposed plan, we need someone inconspicuous to go undercover at Mosca's Casino and try to dig into what this missing merchandise happens to be. Best person to work and lie low would be a server, so I'll volunteer to fly to Vegas," I quickly added before anyone could object, "and I'll take Misty so that I wouldn't be travelling alone. My cover will be that I needed a change from my dull life and decided to move to Vegas for a new start. Misty will be there as my moral support.

"Meanwhile, a team can be setup to quietly shadow the Mañoso families to identify and eliminate out any potential dangers. Once I've located Mitchel Cruz I will alert Rangeman and we can take steps towards an extraction plan," I placed my palms down on the table and leaned in concluding my spiel.

The men all sat silently staring at me in awe and suddenly all spoke up at once objecting to the idea of sending me into Vegas alone and unarmed.

"Silence!" Tank's voice boomed across the room and the room fell silent. "Little Girl, that's some plan you conjured up there but there is no way we will allow for you to fly out to Vegas without someone to back you up," he raised his hand at my protest, "Ms. Plum is not sufficient back up. You are now a Rangeman employee on a Rangeman assignment and it is required for Rangeman employees to operate at all times with a partner unless otherwise cleared by senior staff. If we are to follow through with this plan of yours, Ranger and I would prefer for you to bring a team with you."

"No," I replied sternly. "If I have a group of men traipsing along with me, it'll be too suspicious. I will take one partner with me to start. If the time comes that we need more, you can fly in more men but in the beginning it'll just be a fact finding mission. Men are needed more here to keep the Mañoso family safe."

Tank looked over at Ranger's stoic hard expression sitting in his chair with his hands steeple and gave him a single nod. "Fine, we'll need a volunteer to escort the two ladies to Vegas."

I raised my hand, "Not escort. Whoever's going is going to have to go on his own and act like a perfect stranger who's just going to Vegas for a fun time. We can't draw suspicion that he knows us."

Tank nodded.

"I'll go," Les spoke up.

"No," I countered. "Les, you and Ranger are the last people who should show up. It's _your_ family that's in danger."

"I'll do it," an unfamiliar voice spoke up from the dark back trenches of the Conference Room spoke up.

I looked up to locate the man whose voice belonged to. There leaning up against the wall in the corner was a large blond man in a Rangeman uniform.

"Who the hell are you?" I subconsciously spit out without thinking and apparently not minding my manners.

"Little Girl," Tank cleared his throat, "that would be your new partner, Deuce."

"What?" I bellowed. "Binkie's my partner. What do I need a new partner for?"

"Binkie's been suspended to desk duty for the next couple of weeks due an ankle injury from an incident in an apprehension two nights ago. We've recently hired Deuce and was going to introduce him announcing your new partnership in today's meeting."

"No offence to Deuce, but why can't I just partner up with someone else like Manny or Bobby?"

"Manny's partnered with Ram. Everyone already has their partner assignments and there will always be some rotation but Ranger and I felt that it was better to pair you up with someone who's…" he paused for a few seconds trying to come up with a way to explain, "…not accustomed to your wiles."

"My wiles?"

"What he means is someone who isn't going to fall for your charm and let you get away with not following protocol or let you off easy," Les smirked. "He thinks all of us are a risk to you on the field because we're too involved. Which, may I add, none of us agree to."

I rolled my eyes.

"Sir, I think this would be a good opportunity for Ms. Chau and I to get better acquainted with each other's work style."

"I agree," Tank responded

"I don't," Les voice dripped with disdain. "He's too green. We need someone who's prepared to watch Alyssa's back and keep her safe. Send Bobby."

I frowned. Les never uses my real name and I couldn't help but feel the seriousness in his tone of voice. My intuition tells me he doesn't like this guy for some reason.

"Sir, I understand the magnitude of the situation and although I may be new to the Rangeman team, I am not green when it comes to executing a mission. I will serve Rangeman the same way I've served my country and I will watch over Ms. Chau as if she were my asset."

"Partner!" I grit out. "I'm your fucking partner," I grumbled more quietly.

Tank nodded his head, "The decision has been made. Deuce will be going to Vegas. I want everyone to welcome Deuce to the Rangeman team. Hal, get the necessary paperwork together. Cal and Manny work with Deuce to get whatever necessary equipment needed together. We'll reconvene here at 1500 and prepare to execute this mission. Dismissed!" he barked.

Cami made her way over to me with tears threatening to escape the brim of her eyes. "Are you sure you want to go through with this? Hugo could be a very dangerous man. I could never forgive myself if something happened to you because of me."

I clasped her hands, "Cami, this will be a walk in the park for me. Haven't you read the papers? I've single-handedly taken down a local gang. A casino mob boss will be a piece of cake. I could do this in my sleep," I smiled jokingly. "Plus, I've had my share dealing with dangerous men. I can handle myself and if I can't, I've got some pretty great men backing me up. We're going to take care of this, Cami."

She nodded reluctantly and threw her arms around me, "Thank you so much. When my family spoke of how special you were, this doesn't even come close to what I imagined."

"Everything will work out, Cami," I reassured her.

I walked out the room trying to contain the nausea that I felt since waking up this morning and approached the intimidating man who towered at what seemed to be 6'5." I took in his appearance before speaking. He had soft blond hair cropped short in a military crew cut and deep gray eyes and in his right hand held the two of clubs which he flipped back and forth between his fingers seamlessly.

I stuck my hand out and bent my head back to look him in the eyes while I spoke to him which was pretty tiring at my meager stance of 5'3." "Umm…I just wanted to apologize for my rudeness. I don't have any problems working with you. I guess, I'm just used to working with the others and change can come hard sometimes."

He stared down at my hand with a blank face in place, "Change is inevitable, Ms. Chau. You either learn to cope with it or you end up stuck exactly where you are." He leaned over, taking my hand in a firm grip, he spoke to me in a low voice, "Don't expect me to bend any rules or take it easy on you because you're a girl."

A rush of crushing emotions overcame me and tears began to spill from my eyes, "I'm so sorry. I guess breakfast just didn't agree with me this morning."

I don't know what's come over me! What the fuck! I'm crying because an asshole is attempting to intimidate me and in a poor way at that? I yanked my hand from his grip.

He looked at me startled and shifted uncomfortably, "I will see you at the debrief meeting at 1500."

"What the fuck did you do to her?" Les growled out from behind me.

"Nothing, Les. It's ok. I just got something in my eye," I began rubbing my eyes dry.

Les pulled me down the hall in the opposite direction, "Beautiful, he rubs me the wrong way too. You say the word and I'll have a meeting with the core team and push for change in men."

I shook my head. The last thing I wanted to do was cause problems on the business side of Rangeman. Plus, he was handpicked by the core team and I trusted them with my life. If they trust him to do a good job, the least I could do was believe in their trust.

"You can't just trust people blindly, Beautiful. And he wasn't handpicked by all of us. He approached Ranger for a job. Tank and Ranger pretty much informed us of the new personnel change and I was not the only one who objected. Most of us feel much more comfortable with you partnered with one a more seasoned Rangeman employee. Ranger thinks you need more discipline and a new member to the team without prior influence would be best."

I scrunched my nose. Ranger thought I needed more discipline? "Fucking asshole," I swore under my breath.

Les shrugged, "He's the man you're in love with."

"I am _not_ in l-lobe with him!"

"Did you just say 'lobe,' Beautiful?" Les' eyes twinkled in amusement.

"Shut up. I have skips to bring in before I leave for Sin City," I punched him in the ribs before stalking off.

Ranger, you are now further up on my shit list. I'll show him who needs further discipline.

* * *

_Note to Margaret...you're welcome. =)_

_So whatcha think Deuce is going to be like...? ~Angie _


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: **So this new job is kind of kicking my butt! I get less downtime than I did with my previous employer so posting chapters keeps slipping my mind. So I apologize! Posting 2 chapters today! They're pretty blah and not too exciting yet so I apologize in advance but I hope to groove into it better with the next. =) _

_**Previous Chapter: **__I scrunched my nose. Ranger thought I needed more discipline? "Fucking asshole," I swore under my breath._

_ Les shrugged, "He's the man you're in love with."_

_ "I am not in l-lobe with him!" _

_ "Did you just say 'lobe,' Beautiful?" Les' eyes twinkled in amusement._

_ "Shut up. I have skips to bring in before I leave for Sin City," I punched him in the ribs before stalking off._

_ Ranger, you are now further up on my shit list. I'll show him who needs further discipline._

* * *

**Chapter 10**

"Oooh, Short Round, this is going to be one hell of a trip!" Lula exclaimed fanning herself with the plane ticket as she positioned herself in the window seat.

I was positioned miserably in the middle seat squished in between Misty and Lula on the plane that seemed to not be pumping enough oxygen into the cabin and a crying baby in front of me and a monstrous four year old kicking my seat behind me.

So let's backtrack shall we? Why the hell was Lula sitting on the plane with us? Well, when I called Misty to clue her in on the plan, she in turn called Lula for "extra muscle" who called Tank for permission who thought it was a marvelous idea. Safety in numbers, he explained to me when she showed up at our briefing.

Ten minutes after takeoff, Lula was fashioned with a pillow and eye mask and snoring like a herd of water buffalo while Misty began callously flirting non-stop with the passenger across the aisle who was attending a conference for his company in Vegas. I waved down the flight attendant named, Dale, who reminded me of the cartoon chipmunk Simon with his tall slender body, round glasses and buck teeth.

"What can I do for you, Ma'am?" he smiled cheerily.

"Are there any empty seats I could move to by any chance?" I practically begged him.

He looked down on his clipboard and nodded, "There's an empty middle seat towards the front of the cabin in 9B. You are welcome to move to if that pleases you."

I nodded furiously and immediately began to stand up, "Yes, please." I know it's another middle seat but at least I was hoping I had a little bit of room to at least turn my head if I needed to.

I looked down at Misty, "I'm switching seats."

She nodded at me without making eye contact as she shifted over to allow me to pass. Sheesh, you'd think she was shopping for a new man or something with the way she was enthralled in her conversation.

I made my way up to the front of the cabin and stopped at Row 9 and looked down to find Deuce occupying seat 9A with a pair of earbuds on watching the inflight movie on the back of the seat in front of him, so much for not arriving together.

He looked up at me perking up to the typical Rangeman high alert when something seemed off base, pulling out his earbuds ready to spring into action.

I smiled at him and introduced myself to him through my given alias, "Hi, my name is Sandy. My neighbors are a little noisy so I was told I could take over the seat next to you."

He nodded and began unbuckling his seatbelt.

I stopped him, "It's ok. I can climb over you."

I stepped over his legs and as our thighs brushed up against each other while was straddling him my stomach began to get a fluttering feeling. He placed his hands around my waist and helped steady myself as I maneuvered into the seat.

I blushed slightly and buckled myself in, "Thanks."

"No problem," he replied nonchalantly and returned to his inflight movie.

Prick, I thought to myself before turning to the douchy-looking man sitting by the window, "Sir, would you please kindly remove your hand off of my thigh?"

He grinned up at me and slowly lifted his hands after giving my thigh a quick squeeze, "Sorry, I don't know how it got there."

I flashed him a smile, "No problem," and grabbed his crotched gave it a tight squeeze a twisted roughly, "let's just try to keep our hands to ourselves, huh? Cause sometimes my hand has a mind of its own too," and I released my grip and pulled a _Cosmo Magazine_ out of my bag and sat back in my seat.

I might be mistaken but I thought I felt Deuce shift slightly further away from me.

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

"Ladies and gentlemen, we will be arriving in Las Vegas in fifteen minutes. At this time we ask you to remain in your seats with your seatbelts fastened and your seat and trays restored to its original positions. Time of expected arrival will be 9:10am without a cloud in the sky at sixty-seven degrees."

I groggily willed my eyes to open and realized a blanket was drapped over me and I was sprawled all over Deuce. My leg was thrown across his lap, head in the nook of his arm as it draped across my shoulder and my hand fisted in his red skintight t-shirt. I lifted my head quickly and disengaged myself from him and blushed what I can only imagine a hideous shade of red that was competing fairly well with his t-shirt.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized.

"No problem," he replied stoically.

Wow, now I see why Ranger wanted him to partner with me to further "discipline" me. He was worse than Ranger with his no nonsense personality. He's the perfect example of a good solider. Probably plays everything by the rules and always follows his orders.

But you know Ranger used to be unmoving, but now he's slightly more open than he was from the first time I met him. If Ranger can break, so can Deuce. In the inspiring words of Barney Stinson of _How I Met Your Mother_, "Challenge accepted!"

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

We walked into my "new" two-bedroom apartment in Green Valley west of the city.

"This letter came for you," the Leasing Manager said handing me a plain envelop with my new alias on it. "If you need anything or have any questions, call me," he handed me his business card.

"Thank you," I replied with a quick smile.

"Yes, thank you so much…" Misty cooed grabbing the card out of his hand, "…Dodge. Dodge, that's a cute name. Sandy's new in town. I think maybe you should show her a good time on the town tonight."

Dodge's gave me a quick wink and smiled over at me, "I'm here to be of service to you if you need anything. My apartment is 106 right below yours."

Dodge was a really good looking guy with charm oozing out of his pores. He had soft brown eyes and dark think wavy hair that reminded me of Joe's how it always curled slightly around his ears and always seemed like he was due for a haircut.

I have him a quick head nod and shut the door behind me as he stepped out of the apartment. "For once, would you mind not pimping me out to random strangers making me look like a pathetic idiot?"

"But then what would I do for fun?" Misty shrugged her shoulder, grabbing her bags, and claimed one of the rooms.

"Yeah, Short Round, you've been looking kinda off lately since the cop skipped town. Maybe some lovin' is what you need or maybe some fried chicken. A bucket of _Cluck in a Bucket_ always pulls me out of any kind of funk," Lula exclaimed loudly as followed Misty into the room.

"So what's the plan?" Misty asked appearing back in the living room. The apartment gave off the vibe of a rundown motel and was furnished with furniture that looked like it came out of the 1970s. Ranger had Hal set up an apartment for us and I guess in order to keep with our cover, we couldn't very well look like we were living in a life of luxury.

"The plan is that I get a job at the casino and try to dig up whatever information and dirt I can. Our goal is to locate Cami's boyfriend Mitch."

"So where do we come in," Lula asked plopping down on the armchair.

"You guys just need to act like tourists and hang around the casinos, get to know people and see if there's anything that you can learn on the streets. Your role is really to keep my cover story up. We have to be incredibly careful. The people we're dealing with could be extremely dangerous and Ranger's entire family is in harm's way right now."

Both Misty and Lula nodded their heads.

Lula beamed at me, "Girl, I think we should become actresses. If we pull off this caper, it will prove what great actresses we are. Maybe while we're out here, I can find us an agent."

I rolled my eyes. This was going to be a long ass assignment.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Previous Chapter: **__Lula beamed at me, "Girl, I think we should become actresses. If we pull off this caper, it will prove what great actresses we are. Maybe while we're out here, I can find us an agent."_

_I rolled my eyes. This was going to be a long ass assignment._

* * *

**CHAPTER 11**

I stepped out of the bathroom as a breeze of cold air chilled my clammy wet skin. Startled, I jumped back a few steps to find Deuce sitting at the kitchen in the corner with a laptop and my stomach began to do that fluttery thing.

"How'd you get in here?" I said in a loud whisper pulling my towel tighter to my body.

"I came to get you prepped and dressed for your interview today. You take really long showers. You should start training to reduce the time to five minutes to optimize your time," he added raising his eyebrow and dropping the blank face at my state of undress.

So he was somewhat of a real human man after all.

"I can dress myself," I huffed.

He slid his blank face back into place. "The team has put together your distraction outfit and equipment." He pulled out a duffle bag and furnished a beautiful satin royal blue, one sleeve off shoulder mini dress with a jeweled embellishment buckle on the sleeved shoulder and laid it on the table. Next he pulled out a Victoria Secret bag and placed it next to the dress and a pair of matching pumps.

He spoke calmly and professionally, "Ella picked out the outfit for you. I promise I didn't look in the bag."

I nodded my head and ran my fingers down the length of the dress, "Ella's always has impeccable taste."

He then pulled out a black square necklace box and opened it to show me its contents. Inside was a gorgeous Black Onyx Teardrop Pendant surrounded by diamonds on a silver chain with matching earrings.

"This," he took the necklace out of the box, set the box on the bed and fastened it around my neck, "will allow us to be able to see what you're seeing," he said tapping on the gemstone. "The on and off is the little silver notch at the bottom of the jewel. Push the notch to the backside of the jewel to turn off and to the bottom to turn on."

I nodded my head.

"Video footage will stream live to my laptop," he filled the laptop screen around for me to see, "and to Rangeman."

A little video screen popped up with Ranger's face in it, "Babe." He frowned, "Where's your clothes?"

"Morning to you too, sunshine," I replied smugly. "I didn't have time to get dressed because my new _partner_ decided to pop in unannounced while I was in the shower."

I could see the muscles in his jaw working to maintain his infamous stoic persona. "Babe, the earrings are for us to hear what's going on around you. Make sure to have the items on you at all times. The earrings are activated once clicked into place and deactivated when removed. We will be your extra set of eyes and ears. If you at any time feel uncomfortable or that you may be in danger, I want you to leave immediately."

I nodded my head to let him know I understood.

"I mean it, Babe. Mosca is not a man to mess with. He's a very dangerous man and is rumored to be involved with a number of illegal dealings. As any distraction, keep your panic button on you."

Deuce removed the all too familiar little button and placed it into a black clutch.

"Deuce will fill you in on the rest of the details. If you need anything, you know how to reach me."

"Yup, got it," I bobbed my head up and down.

"Babe?"

"Yes, Ranger?"

"Be careful and don't go crazy."

I grinned crazily at him, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Babe, a little scary," he replied as the screen disappeared.

Deuce continued into his business mode, "I want you to look at a couple of photos and get familiar with them and then we'll go over your cover story again."

"Ok but I think I should put on some clothes first."

He gave me a quick head nod without looking at me and continued to go through the papers in the envelope. I take back the "being human" comment. This man was a fucking robot.

I grabbed the outfit off the table to take back to the room and pulled on a t-shirt and gym shorts. "Show me whatcha got," I said taking a seat at the table.

He began spreading the photos out on the table to show me pictures of all of the key players surrounding Mosca. "Buddy Valentino is Mosca's right hand man," he handed me a photo of a greasy haired, bulk Italian man who looked similar to some sort of gigolo. "You'll probably want to keep a watchful eye on him. I imagine he handles all of Mosca's dirty work. Your interview is at Mosca's casino, _Belize_, at the bar located in the back, _Luna Nuova_, at 1300. You'll be inquiring for a position as a server."

I scrunched my nose at him.

"Do you have a question?" he asked before continuing.

"What time is 1300?"

He gave me a hard look, "1pm. How long have you been working at Rangeman and you don't know military time?"

"Officially, one month. Unofficially, a little over half a year."

We continued through the rest of the morning reading through the files that Hal provided to us, practicing my cover story, and testing out the equipment to make sure it was all in working order.

Lula and Misty popped in for a few minutes to debrief and took off for the casinos. I looked over at Deuce trying to keep my eyes from falling out of its sockets from all of the reading and noticed he was flipping the playing card in his hands.

"Do you play?"

He looked up from the computer screen, "I used to have a gambling problem."

"Oh, so maybe it's not such a good idea to have made you come to Vegas," I said sheepishly.

"Two years clean."

"So is that how you got your nickname?"

He nodded, "Among the fact that I was a fighter jet pilot which is sometimes referred as a Deuce."

"So what's your real name?"

"Derek Hartland," he replied shutting the laptop. "You should start getting ready for your interview."

"Where will you be?"

"You don't need to know. Just know that I'll be close."

"Ok," I replied in full confidence. As stoic as, Deuce was, at least he spoke to me when I asked him questions. This partnership may not be as bad as I made it out to be. I trusted Ranger and his men with my life and Deuce isn't any different even if he is a total stick in the mud. Now if only I could figure out what's going on with this weird uneasy fluttering in my stomach is.

He shoved everything into the black duffle bag and swung it up on his shoulder, stepping up to me, "Remember your cover story and don't stray away from it."

I nodded my head as my stomach fluttered harder at the close proximity of his body with mine. Why was I getting these weird feelings around Deuce? I mean it's not like I was attracted to him. I mean I _am_ attracted to him; he's something really nice to look at.

But he's my partner and a Merry Man. I don't get this way around the other guys. But I can't seem to shake this feeling. It's like a feeling that makes me slightly uncomfortable. Seriously, my hormones are out of whack.

I raised my head to look up at him but no one was there. "Hello?"

_Silence. _

How the hell did he just disappear into thin air? Please don't tell me we have another _Dark Knight_ on our hands.

* * *

_Any thoughts on what Duece may end up being like? Could he just be a replica of Ranger?_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Previous Chapter: **__I nodded my head as my stomach fluttered harder at the close proximity of his body with mine. Why was I getting these weird feelings around Deuce? I mean it's not like I was attracted to him. I mean I am attracted to him; he's something really nice to look at. _

_But he's my partner and a Merry Man. I don't get this way around the other guys. But I can't seem to shake this feeling. It's like a feeling that makes me slightly uncomfortable. Seriously, my hormones are out of whack._

_I raised my head to look up at him but no one was there. "Hello?"_

_Silence. _

_How the hell did he just disappear into thin air? Please don't tell me we have another Dark Knight on our hands._

* * *

**CHAPTER 12**

I identified myself to the bouncer and stepped into the bar which I now learned is actually a _strip_ bar. The place was pretty vacant with only a handful of patrons sitting at tables around the room. The servers were scantily clad which made my uniform at _Cowbells_ look like my Sunday best. Did Hal just set me up for an interview at a fucking strip joint? I'm going to do more than break his nose when I get back to Trenton.

I carefully stepped up to the bartender, "Hi, my name is Sandy Lee, I have an appointment with Mr. Mosca."

"I like it when my women are punctual," a distinguished voice said behind me.

I turned around and flashed him a smile, offering my hand to him to shake, "Mr. Mosca?"

He took my hand and brought it to his lips, "Ms. Lee, please have a seat." He pulled out a barstool for me. "So you're here to inquire employment."

"Yes, sir, you had an ad in the paper looking for a server. I have a lot of waitressing experience and I'm a very hard worker."

He held up his hand, "I can tell from looking at you, Ms. Lee, that you're a woman with a strong work ethic. But what brought you here to the City of Sin?"

"I thought that it was time for me to have a fresh start," I replied confidently.

"What are you running away from?"

"I don't know what you mean, Mr. Mosca," I looked at him baffled.

"Well, Ms. Lee, being a native, I have been privy to many different walks of life and their reasons for escaping to this not so fair city and most times when someone comes here it's to run away from something."

I bit my bottom lip and shifted nervously in my seat, hesitating a couple of beats before saying, "My ex-boyfriend."

He nodded his head, "A common trend for women your age, Ms. Lee. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

Maybe Lula was right. Maybe we should change our careers to acting. I think I could be pretty darn good at it.

He waved towards the bartender, "What's your poison?"

I shook my head, "Oh I couldn't."

"Ms. Lee, when a man offers you a drink, it's impolite to decline especially if you're hoping he's to become your future employer."

I blushed, "Fuzzy Navel."

The bartender nodded and began mixing drinks.

Mosca picked up his caramel colored drink and clinked his glass on mine, "Ms. Lee, I like you. You seem like a nice girl but unfortunately I already filled the server position yesterday afternoon after booking your interview. I didn't cancel with you because I wanted to see if there was something else I could entice you to do instead."

My ears perked up. Like possibly getting in on your illegal business dealings?

"I read on your resume that one of the activities you like to do is dance and that you taught basic dance classes to the youth in some outreach programs."

I nodded my head, "Yes, sir."

"So what do you think about dancing for me?"

I scrunched my nose, "For you?"

He chuckled whole heartedly, "For the Club. I have an opening for a dancer. One of my regular girls just found out that she's pregnant and has decided to retire the pole."

I shifted uncomfortably. What was I supposed to do? I can't strip but I needed to get a job within the Casino for Cami. "I-I don't have any experience."

"You have a dance background. Most girls that start out just apply what they know and gradually learn more from each other as time passes."

I searched for words but nothing came to mind, "There are no other jobs available? Bathroom attendant, possibly?" I squeaked unintentionally.

He smiled warmly at me, "Ms. Lee, I understand that being an exotic dancer can be very intimidating at first but I guarantee you that it's a respectful line of business. You only need to take off as much as you are comfortable with and nobody, by law, is allowed to touch you. And all of the tips you make up on that stage go straight into your pocket. Nobody will take a cut of what you earn. With the innocence that you emit, the patrons will eat it up and on a good night you could make a couple hundred in a night's work."

My eyes grew big.

He nodded, "Within a night of dancing, which you clearly already express that you enjoy, you could enjoy a lobster dinner whenever you want."

"You've got yourself a dancer, Mr. Mosca," I held out my hand.

"Ah, Ms. Lee, I appreciate your enthusiasm," he kissed my knuckles, "but before I can hire you and put you in front of my paying patrons. I need to make sure you can perform."

"I'm not sure what you mean, Mr. Mosca."

"You need to audition for me."

"Ok, when will you be available for an audition, Mr. Mosca?"

"Right now."

"Right now? But I don't have a routine laid out."

"You don't need a routine. I want to see what you can do for me on the fly. I'll give you fifteen minutes to get yourself prepped and you can give Rabbit over there," he pointed to the DJ booth, "your music selection and the stage will be all yours."

"Umm…Thank you, Mr. Mosca, for the opportunity. I hope that I don't let you down. Could you please point me to the restroom?"

He nodded in enthusiasm, "I find it hard to believe that you will disappoint me, Ms. Lee. You can use the employee restroom right through those doors," he pointed to the door labeled _Employees ONLY_ to the left of the stage.

I walked as calmly as I could towards the door and found the door to the women's bathroom down the hall to the left and ran in. Walking up to the sink, I tossed my purse onto the counter top and gripped the edge of the sink tightly as I hung my head.

"How do you get yourself into these situations, _Sandy Lee_," I spat out quietly to my reflection in the mirror mocking my cover name. I reapplied my make-up hoping to give myself a burst of confidence. "How hard can this be? You can just dance. He said there was no need to take off any clothes. Just dance," I shrugged. "I can do this," I said trying to convince myself. "I can do sexy, right?" I scrunched my nose in the mirror. "Sexy can't be that hard," I pouted my.

I stepped back from the mirror and jumped up and down a bit trying to shake out all of the bad kinks in my bones. "Yeah, this will be a piece of cake," I said one more time to myself.

I adjusted my bra and pushed my tiny breasts up hoping perk them up a bit. I leaned over the counter and checked my cleavage and frowned with disdain. "This is so not going to work. Maybe we should've asked Misty to do this instead," I sighed, grabbed my purse and headed out the door quickly before colliding into a slender kid in a busboy uniform.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly as I helped him steady himself.

"No problem," he smiled back at me embarrassed. He looked to be in his early twenties, had thick dark rimmed glasses, with his beautiful thick straight hair parted to the right like his mother probably did his entire life growing up. He had an awkward shyness about him that screamed virgin.

"I need your help," I looked at him quickly biting my lip nervously.

"Uh, what do you need," he asked nervously.

"I need some courage," I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in for a fast hard kiss.

He stepped back startled for a beat and then moved forward and placed his hand on my ass awkwardly and began darting his tongue in and out of my mouth.

I shoved him back in repulsion, "Ew! Kid, don't _ever_ do that again! That was awful."

I stood up straight and walked up to Rabbit the DJ and gave him my song and then stepped up to the side of the stage and took a deep breath to wait for my cue.

The distinct beats of Def Leppard's _"Pour Some Sugar On Me"_ filled the air. I stepped onto the stage, here goes nothing…

* * *

_Hmmm...is Alyssa going to pull this off or is she going to flub it up?_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Previous Chapter: **__He stepped back startled for a beat and then moved forward and placed his hand on my ass awkwardly and began darting his tongue in and out of my mouth._

_ I shoved him back in repulsion, "Ew! Kid, don't ever do that again! That was awful."_

_ I stood up straight and walked up to Rabbit the DJ and gave him my song and then stepped up to the side of the stage and took a deep breath to wait for my cue. _

_ The distinct beats of Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me" filled the air. I stepped onto the stage, here goes nothing…_

* * *

**CHAPTER 13**

I slid across the floor, whipped my hair around, rolled over on hands and knees and tried to seductively hump the stage before sliding back up to my feet. Grabbing onto the stripper pole with my right hand I leaned sideways and swung around the pole and danced with it as if it were a hot Cuban Sex God.

_ I'm hot sticky sweet,  
From my head down to my feet. Yeah!_

I rubbed my hands up the length of my dress and flipped the buckle on the sleeve and let it drop to the ground and seductively walked to the edge of the stage and thrust my hips and swiveled them back and forth. Thank God Ella bought me the matching sexy bra and panties set that just happen to be encrusted in sparkling gems. It's as if she knew this was going to happen...mighty suspicious if you ask me.

Then I spotted him sitting at one of the tables with a shocked and bemused look on his face. For a second, I almost lost my cool but instead flashed him a confident smile.

_You gotta squeeze a little, squeeze a little  
Tease a little more_

I bent down sticking my ass up in the air which I tried not to feel self-conscious about being exposed in the thong. Placing both hands on the edge of the stage, I flipped off landing on my feet which let me tell you is NOT an easy task in stiletto heels. I sauntered over to the table where he was sitting and placed the ball of my right foot on the chair between his legs and gave it a quick push back and straddled his legs, proceeding to give him a lap dance.

I wrapped my hands around his neck and flipped my hair to the side and leaned into his ear, whispering harshly, "What the fuck are you doing here, Manny?"

He flashed me a devious smile, "Just having a little fun, baby. The team convinced Ranger that having someone new on the team be the only one out here to watch over you was too much of a risk so he sent me."

"And when did he agree to this decision? After he caught me in only a towel with Deuce?"

He raised an eyebrow at me, "I plead the fifth."

"You're all a bunch of pricks," I said pushing myself off of him back onto my feet and sashayed over to Mosca.

I danced around him a little bit and made my rounds around the bar lightly touching the other patrons as I returned to the stage. I stepped up on an empty chair closest to the stage then up on the round table top and dropped myself down low wiggling my ass back and forth. Then I turned to face the stage and dove back onto the stage tucking and rolling back onto my feet as I grabbed the pole to steady myself and then shimmied up on the pole and posed as the song came to an end and the lights on the stage dimmed.

My heart was pounding so hard, I thought it was going to explode out of my chest. My breathing was ragged as I clumsily walked across the stage and swooped down to retrieve my dress and exit off the stage left.

"Ms. Lee, you certainly do not disappoint," Mosca appeared from behind the curtain. "Consider yourself hired. You can start tomorrow night be here at six and ask for Mindy. She'll be your mentor until you can get the hang of it."

I beamed up at him, my heart still racing, "Thank you, Mr. Mosca. I promise you I will work my hardest to not disappoint you."

"I sincerely hope so, Ms. Lee," he smiled kissing my knuckles.

I pulled on my dress quickly and high-tailed it out of there. My breathing growing shallow, chest tightening and I started to feel queasy. I can't believe I just pulled that off. I made it out into the desert heat which ended up not being as refreshing as I hoped it to be. I leaned up against the wall and immediately hurled my guts out.

"Fuck," I muttered, wiping my mouth. I fumbled for a mint out of my purse and walked quickly towards my Silver Honda Civic SI, courtesy of Rangeman. I had to smile at the fact that Ranger gave me something that wasn't the standard Rangeman black like his other fleet of vehicles and uniforms.

I quickly wiped the smile off of my face. _"You don't like the prick. Stop smiling like that,"_ I scolded myself. As I as fumbling for my keys, the sound of someone shouting at me to wait reached me from a distance. I turned to see the virgin kid running towards me.

_I groaned inward, "What now?"_

"H-hi," he said nervously, running his hand through his moppy mess of hair. "Y-you were really great out there," he continued fidgeting nervously.

"Do you need something, kid?" I asked impatiently, trying not to let my queasiness overtake me.

"I-I just wanted to ask you…" he stuttered and shifted the balls of his feet.

"Spit it out. I don't have all day."

"Were you for real when you said that I should never do that again?" his face flushed a scarlet red.

"Oh, kid," I softened my voice feeling a little guilty at my harshness towards him earlier. "I was just a little nervous and overwhelmed and you just happened to be in my line of fire. I'm sorry. It wasn't _that bad_?"

He looked up at my questioningly, "You're asking me?"

I shrugged, "Ok so you're not good in the kissing department. Maybe you have other talents. You should try focusing on those," I tried encouraging him.

He shook his head, "I have a date tonight with Samantha Polaris. Do you know what that means?"

"No, what does that mean, kid?"

"I'm the luckiest man on earth," he grit his teeth. "That she actually noticed me and acknowledged me. The most popular and beautiful girl back in high school remembered who I was and agreed to go on a date with me! But if I can't kiss her properly, then I won't have a chance. You have to help me," he pleaded.

"Me?" I replied to him in shock. "What can I do?"

"Teach me. Help me make the right moves."

I ran my hand down the length of my face. "You know, kid. I don't know much about this stuff either. I don't have the greatest relationship record. I don't know how I can really '_teach'_ you anything."

"Please?" he begged with his puppy dog eyes.

Damnit, this kid knows my weakness too.

"Fine!" I muttered loudly. "You be the girl, I'll be you. I'm only doing this once and then you need to scram. The heat is killing me and I think I'm seconds away from having a heart attack."

He nodded eagerly.

"Lean up against the car and keep your hands to yourself, you got me?"

He nodded, squeezing his lips into a tight line.

"Loosen your lips, idiot, and relax."

He complied and waited.

I shook out the heebie jeebies and cleared my throat. "So it's the end of the date, remember to be a gentleman and walk her to her car. When she turns to face you to say good bye, lean into her slightly like this—" I placed my left hand up against the car next to him and leaned in slight, "—and tell her that you had a really nice time with her. Make sure you keep eye contact on her. Lock her in with your eyes. Then ever so gently sweep her hair away from her face or tuck a loose strand behind her ear so that you can slightly brush up against her cheek," I inched in slightly and pretended to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear.

"Some signs that she's interested or excited, she'll bite her lip, keep her eyes trained on yours, her breathing may start to change pace and her body will slightly gravitate towards yours. If you see those signs, then most times it's safe to lean in for a kiss.

"So when you do, cup her face gently—" I cupped my palm around his head and extended my fingers into his hair "—you lean down into as you pull her lips up to yours, but don't kiss her quite yet. Let your lips linger a millimeter from hers so you can both feel your breath upon each other's lips, taking in the way her breath hitches against hers. Then lean in softly pressing your lips to hers, savoring the suppleness and taste of her lips," I leaned in and placed my lips upon his to demonstrate the amount of pressure to apply.

"Then pull back slightly to admire her reaction. If it's positive you, lean in once more, her arms will wrap around your waist. Press your lips against her with slightly more pressure part your lips while they're pressed to hers causing her to part her lips slightly to invite you in—" I pressed my lips up against his and fisted both of my hands into his hair and parted my lips, "—slowly circle your tongue along the lines of her lips and pressed in deeper."

I pulled back slightly, "Pull back ever so slightly, and tell her that you can't wait to see her again," and pressed my lips back up against his. "Now if she's more reserved. You should probably finish up there but if she seems to be reacting to you positively like she wants more such as she's still clinging onto you. You can press her up against the car and slowly shower her with kisses along her jawline and to her ear nipping it gently," I demonstrated.

I then stepped back for air and continued breathlessly, "Then when you've finished step back smiling and admire her for a second, open her car door for her and help her slip in. Let her know once again what a great time you had and tell her you'll call her soon. Wait for her to drive away out of your line of vision to make sure that she's left safely. And that's that, kid," I concluded the lesson pretty satisfied with my work.

"Oh and some tips for you. Don't let your tongue dart it in and out like a freaking snake. The point is to savor one another. Remember this, kid," I placed my hand on his shoulder and looked into his shocked yet very satisfied eyes, "a woman wants her man to have control. Control your movements and show her that you like her but leave a little bit of her wanting. She'll come back."

"Thank you," he said breathlessly, his cheeks slightly tinted pink. "Can we go over that one more time just in case?" he asked eagerly.

I smacked him upside his head, "Nice try kid. Oh and another thing. Get a haircut. A girl likes something to grab onto but this is a little much and screams 'boy' not 'man,'" I said touching his hair. "You've got beautiful hair, now go maintain it." I patted him on the cheek, "Get out of here. You're cutting into my day."

He nodded quickly, "Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow at work."

I smiled at him and nodded, "I'll want full details of how things went," and stepped into my car and watched him jog away.

I pulled away from the curb and took off down the street shaking my head back to reality. How was I going to pull this off and where was I going to need to start searching for clues? I needed some help and I hate to do this but I was going to have to enlist Misty and Lula's advice.

Pressing on the hands-free console on the dash, I called Misty.

"So did you get the job?"

"Yes, but not as the server," I paused.

"Well?"

"He hired me as a dancer," I spit out rapidly.

"WHAT?" she shouted over the phone. "That's amazing!"

I frowned.

"We all know how much you love to dance. This is perfect."

"It's not the kind of dancing that I want to be doing!"

"Oh whatever, Alyssa. I knew you had it in you. You'll have those men fawning over you in no time. Maybe this will work you up to test drive the Herbert Horsecock!"

I groaned loudly. The Herbert Horsecock would be a mammoth of a vibrator that was given to me as a gift from one of my FTAs who owned a sex shop in the Burg. As a token for my troubles, she insisted I take it. It now lives in the deep dark abysmal corners of my closet which is where it will stay.

"I'm only going to treat this as an undercover job, Misty, so my outlook on things will not be changing. I called you to ask you for help. Not to discuss my personal issues."

"You know I'll help you with anything. Just thought it was about time that you started getting some since Morelli's flown the coop. Unless…you haven't told me about something going on with you and Ranger! I bet he's stacked like he could give the Horsecock a run for his money."

"Nothing is going on between me and Ranger!" I bit back. "Never was, never will! He's my boss that's it."

"Jesus, alright already. Someone's got their panties in a bunch. Seriously you need to get laid," she muttered.

"I DO NOT NEED TO GET LAID! Stop saying that!" I shouted and quickly shrunk down in my seat as a middle aged couple pulled up to the light next to me and gave me a disgusted look.

"Ok. Ok. You're sure acting like you need a good screw."

I took a deep breath before continuing, "I need you and Lula to go to whatever store sells a portable stripper pole and some instructional videos. If you can pick out some outfits for me while you're at it but I'm trusting you to be tasteful, Mis."

She laughed, "Why don't you come with us? That way you can pick up stuff you want."

"B-because I have research to do," I stuttered. Truth be told, those type of stores make me incredibly uncomfortably. Thinking about it making my heart race and my head fills with nausea.

"Ok, no problem. Here to help."

"Short Round, we're going to make you the best ho there is!" Lula shouted excitedly in the background.

"I'm not trying to be a hooker, Lula! I'm a dancer!"

_Click. _

I groaned loudly and pulled off to the side of the road, leaning my head up against the steering wheel.

The door was pulled open and I looked up at Manny smiling down at me with slight concern around his eyes.

"I was feeling a little overwhelmed," I replied to him stepping out of the car.

He felt my forehead, "You do feel slightly flushed. Maybe get some food? I assume that's why you stopped here."

I looked up and way and behold, I had pulled up in front of a quaint Italian restaurant. "Yep, that was my plan all along."

"You know what, Miss Lee?" Manny asked playfully.

"What?" I slammed my door shut.

"I think I could really use some kissing lessons, myself," he smirked.

I glared at him, "Were you spying on me?"

"The entire ops team was spying on you," he chuckled tapping on my necklace.

I flushed what must've been a hideous shade of red from the realization of my forgotten wire taps.

"You are quite the teacher. If you can't make it as a BEA, I think that's definitely your calling. By the way, Ranger's been trying to call you."

I took off my earrings and switched off the necklace before digging through my purse for my phone which had twelve missed calls all from Ranger. I gulped nervously and stepped to the side for a little privacy away from Manny.

"Babe," he answered.

"Sorry, I forgot to take my phone off of vibrate."

_Silence._

"Everything you do is being monitored," he said in an emotionless voice. I can never tell if he's ok or if he's angry at me.

"I forgot," I replied sheepishly.

"Do you make it a habit of giving young men kissing lessons often?" I could hear the slight amusement in his voice.

"I was just trying to be nice," I replied annoyed.

"Well, because of that stunt, I have to take the entire ops team to the mats in the morning."

I gulped.

"Dancer, huh?"

"Only job I could take," I replied nonchalantly.

"So I'm just your boss and nothing more, huh?"

_Shit._

"Yeah, what else would you be to me?" I tried saying calmly.

"You did good, Babe. Proud of you," he said those three little words that make me well up with confidence, effectively avoiding my question.

_Click._

"Manny, you need to feed me before I pass out," I said as I approached him.

He beamed at me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, leading me towards the restaurant. "So is this a date and then I get to practice my moves on you afterwards?"

_Oh brother…_


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N: **I'm so sorry for the massive delay in updates and I hope you're still with me! This new job of mine has preoccupied so much of my time and I didn't mean to neglect Alyssa and the new Merry Man in her life, Deuce. I appreciate you guys being patient with me and hopefully now that I'm out of my "training" stages with the job that I'll be able to start focusing back in. Thanks to you all that haven't given up on me yet. Hope you enjoy this chapter. =)_

_**Previous Chapter: **__"Manny, you need to feed me before I pass out," I said as I approached him._

_He beamed at me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, leading me towards the restaurant. "So is this a date and then I get to practice my moves on you afterwards?"_

_Oh brother…_

* * *

**CHAPTER 14**

"So what's your cover?" I asked slurping up my spaghetti noodle.

"I'm going to be trying to court you, Miss Lee," his eyes twinkled. "It'll give me a good reason as to why I'm trying to be around you all the time. I'll be totally smitten by you. My name is Marco Suarez."

"Where's Deuce?"

"He'll continue to hide in the shadows."

I nodded my head. We continued the rest of the meal with our usual comfortable small talk. Manny was incredibly handsome and easy to be around.

"Manny, why don't you have a girlfriend?" I asked him taking a bite out of my tiramisu and let out an unlady-like moan.

He took a bite of the cake off my fork that I held out towards him and chuckled, "Maybe the right one just hasn't come along yet or the right one just isn't available to me right now."

I nodded, "Well, whoever you decide to choose one day is going to be one lucky lady. You're the whole shebang."

He blushed slightly and it was beautiful. "That's a high compliment coming from you."

I shrugged, "Just the truth."

We finished up the meal and headed out to our car. We approached my car and he placed his left hand up against the car leaned into me slightly, mischief was dancing in his eyes.

"Ha ha," I rolled my eyes. "You guys are never going to let me live that down are you?"

He shook his head grinning but held his place a little too close to me, "Like I said. You're a pretty good teacher. I think this method is very effective. I'm practicing maintaining control."

"You guys at Rangeman don't need any more practice with that. You've got plenty of control," I waved him off, as the heat was creeping up my legs at his close proximity.

He leaned down into my ear, "I think your cleavage is amazing."

I gawked at him as he began to chuckle, pulling my waist into him as he opened the door and deposited me in.

"I'll see you around, Miss Lee," he tapped my nose before closing the door.

_Holy fuck. _

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

I stepped into my apartment and was immediately accosted by Lula's bright pink hair flying towards me in her hot pink spandex tube dress that was ten times too small for her causing her voluptuous body to spill out of it.

She pulled me into the living room where there were four stripper poles set up around the room, all of the furniture was pushed over to the side of the room and Misty was talking animatedly with a tall, slender, and cut black woman with beautiful straight blond hair.

"Short Round, this is Kat," she introduced. "This here is Sandy," she gestured to me. "I ran into Kat at one of the slots at the _Flamingo_ and got to talking about our Ho years. Now she's a dancer with her own headlining show! She's agreed to help us out. Told her that you were just starting out in the business and Mandy and I will be joining in for fun!"

I stared at her incredulously for a second but then realized how much I wanted to kiss her for thinking ahead and not blowing our cover. "This is wonderful!" I exclaimed giving Kat a hug. "Thank you so much!"

"Girl, it's a pleasure. Your friend Leila is a hoot and I couldn't pass up an opportunity to help out a new friend."

I beamed at my two friends with pride. Misty tossed me a black shopping bag. "Get dressed so we can get started."

I ran off into my room and appeared in a pair of black hot pants and sports bra. I love Misty. She always thinks of everything.

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

I was lying on the ground staring at the stucco ceiling. If you've ever looked down upon pole dancers, stop. They are incredible athletes and not everyone is cut out to do what they do. I was mesmerized by the amount of muscles needed and balance required to work the pole and in all honesty once you started to get the hang of it. It's actually pretty fun.

After three long grueling hours of lessons, I was beat and honestly, I think that Kat could be worse than a Drill Sergeant. I sat up and went to walk Kat out the door.

"Thank you for your help tonight. That was quite the workout and very enlightening," I thanked Kat, giving her a quick hug after she exchanged goodbyes with Misty and Lula.

"No problem at all. It was fun. You girls should come see one of my shows while you're in town," she handed me card. "Show the bouncer this card and he'll know you're with me. My stage name is Bobcat short for Roberta Katherine."

"Thank you again," I smiled warmly at her.

"Girl, I need five pizzas now. I need to keep my strength up. I never had to work that much as a Ho," Lula cried out fanning herself.

"Pizza sounds good. Let's order some."

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

I waited until Misty and Lula went to bed before I quietly went into the living room and dimmed the lights. My stomach was in knots wondering if I could pull this operation off. The last thing I wanted to do was let down Ranger and especially his family. A lot was on the line and they were counting on me.

I turned on the music softly and put it on repeat so that I could continue to practice and come up with a choreographed routine. About an hour passed and every muscle in my body was screaming. I told myself one more quick run-through and I would go to bed. As the song came to an end I was hanging upside down on the pole with my leg wrapped around it when my calf muscle cramped up.

I let out an agonizing cry as I lost my grip on the pole and began to tumble to the ground but oddly enough I didn't land on the hardwood floor. Instead I looked up into a pair of eyes and found myself wrapped in Deuce's arms.

I wanted to be embarrassed at the moment but the muscle in my calf was cramping. I sat up quickly and went to grab for my leg but Deuce was already on it. Kneading his strong fingers against the muscle, I lay back on the floor and threw my arm over my eyes and cried softly as the pain began to slowly dull.

"It's better now. Thank you," I said softly. "What are you doing here and how long have you been here?"

The lights were to dim for me to make out all of the features of his face and the uneasy butterflies returned to my stomach. "I've been watching you for more than an hour now," he said with no sign of emotion in his voice. "You should be more aware of your surroundings."

I rolled my eyes. That was something Ranger was always saying to me. "I was concentrating on my routine. I didn't think I'd have to worry about some creep breaking in and watching me."

He leaned in closer to me so that I could see every single one of his handsome features. He raised his eyebrow, "Creep?"

I shrugged trying not to let him see how much he was affectingly. "You know what I mean."

"I'm afraid I do not, Miss Chau. What I do know is that if you are to be my partner. I need to be able to trust you to have my back. And if you're this absentminded with being unaware of someone in the room directly in front of you for an hour, how can I trust that you'll be able to cover me if a situation were to arise?"

I scrunched my nose angrily and put my palm up to his chest and pushed into him, "I would NEVER intentionally let a member of the team down and I will always have their back any time, any day," I said menacingly as I continued to push up into him. "I do not appreciate being told otherwise. If you do not trust me, Deuce, then I suggest you request for a reassignment for a new partner. Trust works both ways and if you can't trust me, I can't trust you either."

He grabbed both of my hands tightly causing me to fall towards him as he held me upright. "Miss Chau, if you plan on playing with the big boys then you better be prepared for what comes along with that," his grit out with his eyes filled with fire. "Common sense would lead me to request for a transfer to a new partner but lucky for you, I enjoy a challenge. And Miss Chau, you're as challenging as they come," a hint of amusement reached his eyes.

My breath hitched as my body touched his as I was losing the stamina to keep myself upright on my knees.

"I admire your tenacity and willpower. You've been diligently practicing to keep your cover and I admit from what I saw you are well on your way to becoming a seasoned expert."

I bit my lip at his compliment which I was getting the feeling is seemingly rare for someone like him to hand out kind words. He pulled me to my feet and then carried me bridle style to the bedroom.

My heart was thumping out of my chest. What was he going to do? Will he ravage my aching weak body? The uneasy butterflies were working overtime in my stomach. He laid me gently on the bed and removed his utility belt, placing it on the dresser before waking back to the bed.

My heart thumped hard in my chest. I can't do this. He's my partner! A Rangeman! I shouldn't do this. It's wrong. But my body is screaming for him to eliminate any space we had between us. I felt vulnerable and exposed as he took a seat on the end of the bed. My fucking hormones are out of control.

"What are you doing?" I rasped out in a low voice.

"I'm going to tend to your muscles, Miss Chau. If we are to complete this mission, we need to make sure that you can follow through. And it is obvious that you're not used to this much physical activity and your muscles are not used to it."

My breath hitched as he took hold of my feet and began to rub it tentatively. My hips bucked up involuntarily and I let out a soft low moan. My hands immediately covered my mouth in embarrassment.

"There's no need for embarrassment. It is normal to feel excitement and arousal from a good massage," he replied with no hint of amusement in his voice as he continued to work on the arches of my feet.

Deuce's hands were like magic. He spent a great deal of time tending to each muscle as he carefully kneaded every kink out and I was reduced to a puddle of jelly under his strong and amazing hands. I began to feel uncomfortable as his hands worked its way up my thighs which were getting too close to the no-no zone.

But his hands on me felt too good for me to protest. He slightly brushing my sex accidentally as his hands moved about my upper thighs sent jolts of tense electricity up my body.

I felt him lean into my body and his face hovering inches from mine. I peeled open my eyes slowly and gazed into his intense deep gray eyes.

"Turn around," he commanded in the deepest sultriest voice. Ok so maybe he wasn't trying to come off as sultry and it was just my imagination, but come on, I've got a hot man in bed with me with his hands all over me. A girl's imagination is bound to run amuck.

I propped myself up on my elbows carefully, pulling myself closer into his body. My body felt like it just went up in flames as I carefully turned around onto my stomach and let him work his magic fingers on my back. I felt him lean back down onto me.

"It would be much easier if you removed this," he said snapping the elastic on my sports bra.

I murmured quietly and nodded as I pushed myself up on my knees. I looked back at him before I moved to take off my bra.

"Don't worry, it's dark I can't see anything," he said in his typical non-emotional voice.

I looked back at him and glared, "Sorry, if I don't trust you but from my experience most of you Merry Men know how to see in the dark."

"Merry Men?" a slight hint of bemusement slipped into his tone.

"Rangeman," I corrected myself quickly. "Turn around," I commanded him as I glared into the darkness.

He turned his back to me in response as quickly slipped off the bra and laid back down on the bed.

"Ok, you can turn around now."

I felt the bed shift as he turned back around and straddled my ass his hands ran up the length of my back as he leaned back down above my ear. "Your glaring is not very effective, Miss Chau, but it is fairly amusing," he said playfully before sitting back up right and getting back to work.

Boy, this man ran hot and cold all within a matter of seconds.


	15. Chapter 15

**_A/N: _**_This chapter isn't very exciting. Sorry. But at least I've posted another chapter! =D See I'm getting back into the groove of things._

_**Previous Chapter: **__"Ok, you can turn around now."_

_ I felt the bed shift as he turned back around and straddled my ass his hands ran up the length of my back as he leaned back down above my ear. "Your glaring is not very effective, Miss Chau, but it is fairly amusing," he said playfully before sitting back up right and getting back to work._

_ Boy, this man ran hot and cold all within a matter of seconds._

* * *

**CHAPTER 15**

"Beautiful, I wish I could be there with you. You're a sight for sore eyes."

I smiled back at my computer screen, "I miss you too, Les."

"You're going to have to show me some of those moves of yours. They were pretty hot."

I grinned at him, "You know that Ranger's standing behind you right?"

"He doesn't scare me," he continued.

"Oh but that black eye of yours says otherwise."

"Nothing I can't handle." He turns around towards the growling Ranger, "Can I get a little privacy here, man? I haven't talked to my girl, in over a day."

"Hurry it up," Ranger growled and walked away.

I started giggling, "You know he's going to kill you, right?"

He shrugged, "It'll be worth it. How are things, really? Are you comfortable?"

I nodded, "Yes, I'm really glad you guys sent Manny. Makes me feel a little more secure. It's a little hard for me to assess Deuce. He runs pretty hot and cold with me."

Les' eyes narrowed, "You tell me if anything happens or if you're not feeling comfortable and I'll be there in a heartbeat. I don't like the guy."

"He's not a bad guy, Les. Just hard to read is all. Besides, I have Manny here now so everything is good."

"I'm glad, Beautiful. I had to fight tooth and nail to get them agree to send him out there."

"It was your idea?"

He nodded, "I don't want you out there alone with an inexperienced solider."

"He's not inexperienced, Les. He did his time in the Air Force. He's just new to the Rangeman team."

"Same thing," he muttered.

"Les," I scolded him.

"Whatever," he ran his hand down his face. "I stopped by your apartment yesterday to water your creature and picked up your mail. Someone left you a box of chocolates but there was no note. You dating someone I don't know about?"

I frowned, "His name is _Monster_, not C_reature_, and thank you for doing that. I'm not dating anyone, you know that. Maybe Joe sent them? Or possibly they got the wrong address?"

He shook his head, "Morelli's in D.C., if he sent them, there would've been a card attached. The weird thing was that when I opened them there were a couple of cockroaches eating them already."

I sat back in horror and immediately grabbed for the nearest trashcan and hurled into it.

"Beautiful, are you ok?" I heard Les shouting from the computer.

I returned to seat and nodded, "Sorry that was just incredibly disgusting."

His eyebrows furrowed at me, "Are you sure you're feeling ok? You don't typically react that way to news. I thought you had a stomach of steel especially with all of that junk you eat on a constant basis."

I shook my head, "Maybe my body's just not adjusting to this area very well. How long would the chocolates been sitting there for to have it attacked by cockroaches?"

"I would think at least a week. You just left the other day so at most it's only been sitting there for two days. It's very odd."

"What were you doing opening up my chocolates anyways?"

"Well, I needed to make sure that they weren't a threat to you and I didn't think you'd mine me stealing a couple, but I tossed them in the trash."

"That's odd. Maybe someone just accidentally dropped them from their trash as they were coming down the hall? Who knows? Whatever," I jumped as a pair of hands came down on my shoulders. "Shit, Deuce! Why can't you knock on the door like a normal person?" I shouted.

Les' eyes narrowed, "Ranger would like to speak to you, Beautiful."

"I should go, Les. Tell him I'll talk to him later," I said quickly not really wanting to deal with Ranger's pissy mood so early in the morning.

"He's insisting, Beautiful. You take care of yourself. You know where to reach me."

"Babe," Ranger replaced Les in front of the computer.

"Ranger," I voice quickened. "I need to get going. Talk to you later." I shut the laptop quickly.

"You're very defiant," Deuce's voice startled me as I jumped out of my chair. "He's your commanding officer. You shouldn't be so rude."

"I'm not in the military, so he's not my _commanding officer_," I smirked. "I'm not in the mood to deal with him. Besides, I did some snooping and turns out that Mosca had a former employee who worked his security magically disappeared a couple of months ago. The police have closed the case because of a note he left saying that he was tired of Vegas and wanted to start a new life somewhere else and to not come looking for him. He left behind his sick mother who passed away a month later. I doubt he just left willingly. So I'm going to go talk to his girlfriend and friends to see if they know of his whereabouts."

Deuce nodded his head, "You need to take your jewelry."

"I'm sorry but my jewelry doesn't look casual enough. I'll wear the earrings so you can hear if that makes you feel better but I can't wear that necklace. Besides I have my panic button."

His face went from stoic to stern, "I can't have you traipsing around Vegas asking potentially harmful questions alone."

"I'll take the girls with me," I glared at him.

"Fine," he grunted.

Sheesh, moody much?

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

"Were you two having problems that would make him leave?" Misty asked.

Kyle Baxter's girlfriend, Lisa Monroe, a mousy brunette, with dark rimmed glasses eyes were red from tears. She shot us a horrified look, "No! He just asked me to marry him. He wouldn't do this to me."

"Do you know what kind of work relationships he has at the casino or if he's been acting strangely," I asked her carefully.

"Oh, I know his boss has something to do with this," her eyes narrowed. "Kyle was going to quit and we were going to leave. He said that he was going to come into some money soon and we could leave this place. But then he started working long and late hours and one night he just didn't come home."

"Do you have any ideas of how he was coming into this money he was talking about?"

She shook her head.

"That's an obvious answer," Lula spoke up over her chocolate cupcake. "Girl, you should open a bakery. These are damned good. Who would've thought to put bacon in a dessert?"

It was evident that the cupcakes were good, Lula's already swallowed half of the tray alone.

Lisa smiled, "Kyle and I were going to open a bakery together once we moved."

"Lula, focus! What do you mean that the answer's obvious?" Misty got us back on track. Good 'ole Misty always the leader.

"He works for a crook. He must've found something he wasn't supposed to see and blackmailed Mosca like a fool and then Mosca made him disappear," Lula replied, stuffing another cupcake in her mouth. "It's always how it is on TV."

"If this is following TV, that means that Kyle's dead," Lisa's eyes brimmed with tears.

"Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this, Lisa," I tried to reassure here. "We'll figure out what happened no matter what. If you can remember anything that could help us, please call me."

She nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"You really should talk to his best friend, Rodney McPherson. They usually told each other everything but he won't tell me anything. Said it was for my own good to have as little information as possible but maybe he'll be willing to talk to you."

"Thank you for your time and your help, Lisa. We'll be in touch."

We walked towards the door.

"I think these cupcakes are about to go stale I think I should take them off your hands so that they don't go to waste," Lula said grabbing the tray.

"Please, feel free," Lisa smiled.

I rolled my eyes at Lula, leave it up to her to steal from a grieving girlfriend. I snatched a cupcake off the tray as I passed her walking towards the car.

"Hey, Short Round, I don't think you should eat that. It could make you sick," Lula shouted at me.

I rolled my eyes, "But it's ok for you to wolf them down?"

"I have a strong stomach," she protested.

"I think I'll survive. Stop being greedy. I'm starving," I took a bite into the cupcake and was instantly in heaven. Lula was right. Bacon in dessert is a magical thing.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Previous Chapter: **__"Hey, Short Round, I don't think you should eat that. It could make you sick," Lula shouted at me._

_ I rolled my eyes, "But it's ok for you to wolf them down?"_

_ "I have a strong stomach," she protested._

_ "I think I'll survive. Stop being greedy. I'm starving," I took a bite into the cupcake and was instantly in heaven. Lula was right. Bacon in dessert is a magical thing._

* * *

**CHAPTER 16**

After lunch, I dropped off Misty and Lula back at the apartment and headed to Rodney's place of business. I parked a few blocks away from the tattoo parlor that Rodney worked at. The parking Gods were never in my favor.

I stepped out of my car when suddenly someone yanked me out roughly by my wrists and I was dragged the nearest corner and slammed into the wall. I open my eyes and clenched my fists ready to defend myself when I came face-to-face with a terrifyingly angry Deuce. I've always found Ranger intimidating but he's never instilled fear in my heart the way Deuce was at the moment.

If I hadn't remembered to pee at the restaurant, I probably would've pissed my pants on the spot. "Deuce?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going to go talk to Baxter's friend," I said confidently. I couldn't let him know he scared the shit out of me.

"You told me that you would wear your earrings and you'd be with your friends all day," he barked.

"Chill out, dude," I rolled my eyes and yanked my hands out of his grip. "I just forgot to grab the earrings, I have my panic button on me. And Lula got sick so I had to drop her off and Misty's watching over her. I'm going to be fine. I'm just going to ask a few questions."

"In a tattoo parlor dressed like that?" he spat out, pointing at my blue jean mini skirt and yellow tunic tank top. He then grabbed hold of both my shoulders and shook me.

"Please don't do that," I said to him starting to get the nauseous butterflies in my stomach. "I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."

"How am I supposed to trust you as my partner if you lie to me?" he shook me once more.

"I didn't lie to you! I just forgot! Leave me the fuck alone so I can go do what I came here to do!" I shouted back at him and as I took a step towards him, I hurled all over his shoes.

He jumped back quickly but not fast enough.

I looked up at him sheepishly, "Sorry. I haven't been feeling myself lately. Plus, I told you not to shake me. You should go get cleaned up. I'll be going now," I said quickly rounding the corner and sped walked towards the tattoo parlor, smiling to myself.

I clamored through the door and stepped into what looked like the typical tattoo joint men and women standing around with piercings and tattoo covered bodies and tattoo art littered the walls.

Everyone stopped and looked straight at me, at that moment, I was feeling very out of place. I flashed a smile and gave them a quick finger wave, "Hi, I was hoping I could find Rodney."

A three hundred pound Hispanic man with a bullring in his nose pointed towards a ratty old red curtain.

"Thank you," I said to him politely and made my way through the curtain.

I passed through the curtains which turned out to just be hiding a little cubby hole where a chair that looked similar to a black leather dentist chair and a man who reminded me slightly of Misty's boyfriend, Bones, except in loo of Bones' icy blue eyes, Rodney had dark brown eyes that were almost black.

"Remove your panties, darling and have a seat," he said me with his head in his laptop without looking at me.

"What?" I sputtered.

"Or do you want something above the waist? If so, remove your top," he continued messing with his laptop.

"I'm not here for a tattoo. I'm here to ask you a couple of questions about your friend, Kyle."

This piqued his interest. He looked up from his screen and narrowed his eyes at me. "What's Kyle to you?"

"I'm working with someone who's trying to figure out what happened with Kyle because the same person may possibly have done something to my friend."

His face relaxed, "I'll tell you want I know and answer your questions as best as I can. But you're going to have to get a tattoo or the boss'll be angry for you being in here."

"Uh ok a tiny one," I stuttered.

He smiled, "It has to be on your ass."

"I don't want you near my ass," I replied haughtily.

"Darlin', I've been doing this a long time. Trust me, I'm a professional," he flashed me a wolfish smile. "Come on, it'll be cute for a cute girl like you."

"I don't do cute," I grit out, "but whatever. Fine," breathed out quickly. I can't believe I'm about to do this.

"So what you would like, darlin'? How about a Chinese character?"

"That's racist," I sputtered.

He chuckled, "It's a common request. How 'bout a little heart?"

I scrunched my face.

"Butterfly?"

I stuck out my tongue.

"You're not giving me much to work with in terms of 'tiny.'"

I sighed, "Fine, let's be stereotypical Asian. Give me a tiny Chinese character."

"Princess, then."

"You know. I could just beat the information out of you," I glared at him.

He raised his hands a grin stretched across his face. "I've got the perfect one for you. Now take off your panties like I instructed earlier and lay face down on the chair," he turned his back to me and began adjusting the chair.

I slipped off my lace bikinis and stuffed it into my pocket and stepped over to the chair. "Wait," I hesitated before lying down, "what have you decided to permanently mark me with?"

"It's a surprise," he smiled.

"Uh, I don't like surprises."

"Darlin', you're gonna have to trust me."

"I just met you. I don't have to trust you. I think it's better to beat the info out of you."

"I'm about to trust you and tell you what I know about my best friend who's a brother to me, and I don't even know your name, Darlin'. So that must count for something," his eyes grew serious.

"Ok, fine. Blind trust hasn't gotten me killed yet," I said begrudgingly climbing into the chair face down.

He pushed my skirt up to expose my ass and I gasped slightly. I could feel him smiling as he slapped my ass and rubbed his hands along the surface.

"Hey!" I lifted my head, turning to him shouting.

He grinned, "I'm an artist, Darlin'. I have to survey the canvas before getting started. I think this is the perfect spot," he circled the upper right corner of my butt cheek gently with his finger sending shivers through my body and then he gave it a good slap.

I really wanted to kick this guy's ass.

"So here's the story but it didn't come from me, you hear?" his voice turned serious as he began prepping his tools.

"You can trust me, Rodney," I said sincerely looking up at him. "I want to help."

He nodded, "You look like you'd be a terrible liar so I'm trusting you're telling the truth."

I scrunched my nose at him as he let out a loud boisterous laugh.

"Kyle got himself into the middle of a mess he should have never stepped into. It's a well-known fact that his boss, Mosca, was bad news but Kyle was making good money working for him so he just kept his nose clean and head out of trouble. Until his mother got sick, he was footing all of the hospital bills and his bank account was quickly depleting. Then he started picking up some extra hours at the Casino and then he stumbled upon something he shouldn't have."

"Ow," I cried out in pain.

"Darlin', that was just the alcohol swab," his voice dripping with amusement.

"Whatever," I muttered. "What did he stumble upon?"

"A kid. He said his name was Mitch Cruz."

I gasped, "That's who I'm looking for!"

"Good luck," he smirked. "Kyle was idiotically snooping around one of the back rooms one night and said he found some hidden cellar door where he found Cruz. He was going to call the cops but this Cruz fellow told him not to. He offered him another proposition for helping him escape. Said his girlfriend comes from a family of money and he could pay him but he didn't want to cops involved."

My eye began to twitch as he spoke of Cruz betraying Cami's trust and using her for money. "So then what happened."

"Kyle told me that he was going to do it. He was going to sneak in one night find a safe place to hide Cruz and then he was going to take the money, Lisa and run. That was the last I heard from Kyle. I told him it was a stupid idea. Told him that he could just quit and I'd help him find a different job through one of my buddies. But he insisted this was his big break. So, I don't know if the idiot is dead or if he's captured sitting right next to that Cruz idiot."

"You're not concerned with looking for him?"

He shook his head, "Of course I care about the idiot, but Mosca's a dangerous man. And I have a family and kid to watch out for, I can't risk him and his men coming after my family because of my snooping. If there's a ransom, I'm glad to pay for his safe return but he knows as well as I do that I can't risk my wife and baby girl. He wouldn't want to risk any attention being drawn to Lisa either. So all I can do is sit and wait hoping it'll all turn out ok in the end."

I frowned. I supposed I couldn't fault him. I couldn't fathom having someone depend on me. The only person depending on me was Monster and I forgot to water him frequently.

"Rodney, I work with some very highly skilled people who are currently working on locating Cruz, I'll make sure that we try to locate Kyle as well. We've got it covered but can you call me if you think of anything that could be helpful or learn anything new? I will not mention anything about you."

He nodded his head and rubbed something nice and cool on my ass. "Not a problem, darlin'. I'll help in any way that I'm capable. Make sure you keep this well lubricated and try to keep it out of direct sunlight for 2-4 weeks."

I scrunched my nose, why would my ass be hanging out in the middle of winter? I slowly sat up adjusting my skirt. "So what did you end up giving me?"

"You'll have to figure that out for yourself," he winked at me. "Now you need to scram, my next appointment will be here soon."

"Thanks for the info, Rodney. Here's my number, call me," I handed him blank card with my temporary cell number on it.

I stepped out of parlor and hurried to the car. I had about an hour and a half until I needed to show up for my first gig. I sped down the freeway, as the crazy west coasters refer to, and pulled into the parking lot. Scrambling to get my stuff together, I clumsily entered the apartment and called out for Misty and Lula but it was oddly quiet.

I stuck my head into the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water and chugged it making my way to my room. I plucked a hot pink sticky note off the door that read, _"Lula's better. Went to casinos for fresh air. See you at your show. – M & L"_

I smiled slightly; yeah fresh air at casinos was very likely. I remember the time Lula claimed to be on a "Fried Chicken Diet" where she ate nothing but fried chicken all day. Needless to say, she did not lose any weight.

I entered my bedroom and shut the door when a rush of uneasiness overcame me. I turned around and came face-to-face with a very angry Deuce.

"What are you doing in my room?" I bellowed.

"You ran off," he grit out.

"Yeah, I had work to do."

"Then you proceeded to drive like a mad woman down the highway."

"Freeway," I corrected him emptying my pockets of loose cash, receipts and my panties fell out onto the floor.

Duece swooped them up and held it out to me, letting them hang from one finger. "So, did you get the information that you were looking for?" his voice was low menacing.

I snatched them away from him angrily and balled them up and threw them into my laundry bag. "Yes, I did."

"And at what cost?" his eyes wandered to my skirt.

"Wouldn't you like to know," I smirked. "I don't have time to play games with you right now, Deuce. You kind of have a bad temper that could give Ranger a run for his money."

"Sorry," his voice softened slightly. "Sometimes I forget that I'm partnered with an emotional female."

"Fuck you, asshole," I shouted at him, throwing a pillow at his head.

"See? Emotional," he growled at me bemused. "Tell me what you found out since you didn't take your wire with you."

I rolled my eyes and began searching for my costume and began packing a small bag. "Kyle found Mitch. Mitch didn't want the police involved and offered to Kyle part of the ransom money from Ranger's family if he helped him escape Mosca. Kyle agreed but disappeared before he could let Rodney know if the plan went through. But obviously it didn't. He's unclear for whether he was successful with helping Mitch escape and then got captured by Mosca or if he just offed him. I need to get running or I'm going to be late," I reached around him and grabbed for the door handle.

Deuce captured my wrist and pulled me into his body. My stomach was filling rapidly with butterflies. "Do you have your jewelry?"

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, dad."

"Good," his eyes so intensely grey they looked like a storm was brewing.

I bit my bottom lip, entranced in his foreboding eyes. "I'm going to be late," I finally managed to breath out.

"Miss Chau—"

"—Alyssa," I corrected him. "Stop calling me _Miss Chau_, it's unnerving."

He paused, "Alyssa, a lot is riding on this operation for me too. This is my first operation as a Rangeman, and I want to make sure it goes without a hitch. I have a lot to prove," his voice softened, making me try very hard not to reach my hand out and caress his cheek.

I nodded, "I understand, Deuce. Don't worry. I'm your partner and I would never intentionally let you down. But I will forewarn you, nothing ever goes 'without a hitch' when I'm involved," I smiled playfully at him. "As long as I'm a part of Rangeman, you're going to have to learn how to cope with these 'hitches,'" I air quoted and then patted him on the face before maneuvering around him and walked out the door.

Deuce may be challenging but I'm confident it's nothing I can't handle.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Previous Chapter: **__He paused, "Alyssa, a lot is riding on this operation for me too. This is my first operation as a Rangeman, and I want to make sure it goes without a hitch. I have a lot to prove," his voice softened, making me try very hard not to reach my hand out and caress his cheek._

_ I nodded, "I understand, Deuce. Don't worry. I'm your partner and I would never intentionally let you down. But I will forewarn you, nothing ever goes 'without a hitch' when I'm involved," I smiled playfully at him. "As long as I'm a part of Rangeman, you're going to have to learn how to cope with these 'hitches,'" I air quoted and then patted him on the face before maneuvering around him and walked out the door. _

_ Deuce may be challenging but I'm confident it's nothing I can't handle._

* * *

**CHAPTER 17**

"This is the dressing room where we spend most of our time when we're not on stage or unless there's a request for one of us in the Champagne Room," Trixie spoke through her Botox injected lips covered in slick sticky lip gloss.

Trixie was to be my "mentor" and show me the ropes. And from a distance, she could pass for a twenty-something but up close you can see that age was setting in. She had to be somewhere in her early forties. Regardless she was beautiful.

"Champagne Room?" I asked quietly, scanning the room at all of the either fully naked or half naked women flouncing around the room prepping themselves for their "shifts." The boys back home must be having a ball staring at the monitors right now, I mentally rolled my eyes.

"Sugar, the Champagne Room is for private dances. That's where the real money is."

My heart leapt out of my throat, "Private dances?"

"Don't worry, Suge. You're still fresh meat, Mosca won't put you out there on the market for a while until you get a regular following. He likes to keep his newbies as new and fresh as possible."

Relief swept across my face.

She introduced me to several of the women which none of them gave me more than a second glance and turned back to whatever they were doing.

"Don't worry about them. They tend to get a little worked up when Mosca brings in new girls. Younger women tend to get better tips and response from the patrons. They'll get over themselves after a while," Trixie whispered down to me as she led me to vanity table. "This is your table. You are responsible for your own makeup, hair and costumes. Although, sometimes Mosca may buy an outfit for you and request for a specific routine. But if you need help with anything then you come to me. You're on at eight, nine and eleven."

"What?" the girl next to me screeched. I believe Trixie introduced her as Vixen. "Why is Mosca letting her have three numbers and at prime times? She's new for god's sake! When I started I got only one number for weeks and went on a six or so late at night when everyone was already drunk," she sputtered.

"Vixen, it's what Mosca requested and I'm not going to question his decisions. Are you?" she raised an eyebrow at her.

"No," she muttered angrily and went back to applying little gems around her areolas.

I was starting to get nervous as I looked at all of the scantily clad women around me. Thank God I had five different outfits in my bag courtesy of Misty but I was definitely not planning on adorning my body with glitter and gems sans clothing.

"One more thing, Suge, the men who work here aren't allowed to touch you. They may think they can get away with it, with you being new and all but it's against company policy. Mosca doesn't like his men involved with his girls. Got it?"

I nodded.

"Ladies," Mosca called out warmly as he entered the room.

"Mosca!" all of the girls sang out in unison as they clamored to their feet to greet him. He gave a couple of the girls a pat on the butt, inappropriate squeezes and even kissed a couple of them and I swear I saw tongue.

I nearly threw up in my mouth at the thought of sucking up to him in that manner.

He spotted me and a grin spread across his face as he approached me. He cupped my face with his hands and gave me a soft kiss on the lips. "Miss Lee, I'm so glad that you were able to make it. I have high hopes for you."

I blushed and looked down at my feet, "Thank you for this opportunity, Mr. Mosca."

"Ah, so innocent. I love it!" he roared with laughter. "I hope that you're ready tonight, Miss Lee."

"I am, Mr. Mosca. I'll try not to let you down."

"See to it that you don't, Miss Lee," his voice lowered slightly that sent a shiver down my spine. He turned and grabbed Trixie, luring her out of the room to do who the hell knows what.

I scrunch my nose in distaste at the outfit that I'm about to put on for my first number — a naughty angel.

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

I waited stage left for my cue as the DJ introduced me as the newest addition to the lineup and in the end he shouted loudly into the crowd, "Let's give it up to CHINA DOLL!"

I blanched as the bar roared with applause and my song came on. The audacity and racism! They just automatically gave me a stage name without consulting me? And why did I have to be "China Doll" of all names?

The lights went down so that I could take my place out on the stage before the song was cued. I stood next to the pole for a couple of seconds before the lights began to slowly come up. I froze in place as HInder's "Lips of an Angel" rings in my ears and the crowded restaurant stares back at me.

Ok so I don't know why I can't will myself to move, I just stood awkwardly staring out at the bar feeling like I was frozen in time. I never imagined how nerve wrecking it would be to stand in front of that many people staring at me making kissy faces at me along with the numerous cat calls.

My eyes pinned instantly on Manny's in the back corner of the room. A small ghost of a smile brightened his already handsome face. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and summed up the courage to continue.

_It's really good to hear your voice saying my name  
It sounds so sweet  
Coming from the lips of an angel  
Hearing those words it makes me weak_

I slowly raised my hands to my lips and collapsed to the ground and went into my practiced routine. Trying to ignore the audience and dance to the music and in the end the lights went down and relief swept over me. I collected the money of the stage and hurried off.

"Suge, for a minute there I thought I was going to have to go out there and slap you. You looked like you were zoned out for a minute."

"I was," I said softly. "I didn't think there would be so many people."

"Well, get used to it, Suge. And don't let that happen again. Mosca doesn't take kindly to hiccups like that especially during peak hour. And you need to start showing more skin," she pointed at my satin white baby doll halter dress.

"Hey!" I heard a voice call out to me as I headed towards the dressing room.

I turned and saw the Kid with a fresh new haircut and sporting a huge grin on his face. "Hey, Kid."

He threw his arms around me, "Thank you! I have another date with her this weekend and we've been texting non-stop since last night."

"Congratulations, Kid. I'm happy for you but it was all you. I just offered a few helpful tips was all. The hair is nice," I brushed his hair from his forehead.

"You were really good out there — mesmerizing. Some of the regular guys that are usually pretty rowdy were captivated by your dancing. It was tantalizing."

"Thanks, Kid. Actually, could you point me towards Mosca's office?"

He nodded, "Down at the end of the hall. Although, I wouldn't go in there if I were you, he doesn't like to be disturbed when he's in his office. Usually, if anybody needs something from him, they just wait until they spot him or call him. He's usually wandering around the club checking up on everything. Mr. Mosca's very hands on."

"New girl!" Trixie barked at me. "You're on in another half an hour, stop standing around and flirting with the staff and get ready!" and she disappeared back into the dressing room.

I turned and walked towards the dressing room when the Kid grabbed my arm, "Be careful of the other girls. They can get pretty catty especially Vixen. New girls don't tend to last very long here because of 'accidents' or they just can't take it."

"I thought the last girl left because she was pregnant."

"That was her excuse. Mosca doesn't let his 'assets' quit that easily especially if they're making him good money."

I frowned at him, "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

I ran through my second number with semi-ease, but after seeing what the other girls wear, I'm realizing that Trixie is right. If I intend to have Mosca keep me here, I'm going to need to start investing in some more "scandalous" outfits instead of these dresses which I'm too terrified to take off in front of the crowd of people.

After my number I returned to the dressing room and found my clothing strewn all over the floor around my vanity table and my clothes were torn to shreds.

Vixen turned and smirked at me as I stood there looking dumfounded with my mouth hanging open. Some of the other girls walked past me purposefully bumping into me.

"There's a costume room towards the end of the hall on the right," Trixie spoke up behind me not amused. "Go find yourself another outfit before your next number."

I nodded slowly and left the room as I heard a few girls cackle. Sheesh. The Kid wasn't joking about these bitches being catty. These girls are messing with the wrong girl.

I marched down the hall and heard Mosca's voice as he entered the dressing room and spotted the door — Mosca's office. He's being preoccupied with the other girls so I could run in and sneak a peek real quick to see if I can find anything useful. I slipped through the door and did a quick walk through of his shelves and desk drawers.

I was in his closet rummaging around trying to push around some boxes when I heard the voices at the door and saw the door knob slowly starting to turn. I went into panic mode. This is exactly what happens on TV when the suspense is coming to see if the person is going to get caught or not. But after the commercial break the person opens the door and somehow the protagonist always somehow escapes.

I don't think I have that much luck so I ran towards the door right as it swung open and I came face-to-face with Mosca and a beefy man in black standing behind him.

"What are you doing in here?" Mosca asked angrily.

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Mosca. I was looking for the costume room and went in here by mistake. I won't let it happen again. I'm so sorry," I started rambling and by some sort of miracle tears began streaming down my eyes as I began to bawl. Ok, so these weird hormonal issues of mine have finally come in handy.

His face softened slightly as he placed his hand on my arm and led me back into the office towards his couch and sat me down. He thumbed the tears from my face.

"There's no need to cry. Trixie has shown me what happened to your personal affects and I want to apologize to you for the behavior of the other girls. I will reimburse you for the damages to your items."

I shook my head, allowing the tears to continue streaming down my face, "That's not necessary Mr. Mosca."

"I don't want to see you cry. You're much too beautiful, Miss Lee."

"Please call me, Sandy," I sniffled trying to regain my composure.

"Alright the, Sandy," he smiled and shifted himself closer to me. "Please don't let the other girls get you down. Girls will be girls and some of them have a little jealous streak in them. If you have any problems with them, I want you to come directly to me as soon as possible. I don't want something happening that can be avoided or corrected."

I nodded.

"You really are a beautiful and sweet girl, Sandy," he tilted my chin up and then leaned in for a — KISS!

_Fuck!_

He pushed me down onto the couch and kissed me hard and feverishly. His hand ran up the length of my body before cupping my breasts. I tried hard to stifle my disgust and cries. His erection was pushing into my thigh.

"Mr. Mosca?" I tried pulling away from him. "I need to find a costume and get ready for my next set."

"Sandy, I'm sorry. You're, right," he pulled away apologetically. "You're quite the irresistible little one," he grinned as he sat up.

I blushed and smoothed out my blue sequin dress.

"Let me direct you to the costume room," he said kissing my bare shoulder.

He opened the door and gave a quick head nod to the goon and then led to another door next to his office.

"This is the costume room. You are welcome to use anything you find in here," he said encouragingly as he led me into a gigantic room with more sparkles and bling than what you would find in a Ke$ha music video.

I stood gaping at everything in the room.

He swept my hair, exposing my neck and kissed it gently. "If there is anything you want or need, you let me know. I'll buy you anything."

The shelf that dazzled me the most were the shoes from _Louboutin_ to _Manolo Blahnik_. I was in heaven. But why let dancers wear such high end expensive branded shoes? I mean this place obviously made bank but it's not the classiest joint on the strip.

At that moment, I didn't care; I just stroked the patent leather pumps like it was a new born kitten and purred. I chose a blinged out silver top hat, hot pants, sleeveless white button down, black tail coat, silver sequin bowtie, sheer black stockings, and black _Louboutin thigh high boots _with a silver heel stiletto.

On my way out the door I spotted a silver cane sitting in the corner and shrugged, _"Why not?" _I grabbed the cane. It may come in handy later. It could be effective with fighting off some nasty vixens.


	18. Chapter 18

_**A/N: **Now that I'm back in the swing of things. I'll be back to my regular Tuesday and Thursday postings. Thanks for staying with me. =) _

_**Previous Chapter: **__At that moment, I didn't care; I just stroked the patent leather pumps like it was a new born kitten and purred. I chose a blinged out silver top hat, hot pants, sleeveless white button down, black tail coat, silver sequin bowtie, sheer black stockings, and black Louboutin thigh high boots with a silver heel stiletto. _

_On my way out the door I spotted a silver cane sitting in the corner and shrugged, "Why not?" I grabbed the cane. It may come in handy later. It could be effective with fighting off some nasty vixens._

* * *

**CHAPTER 18**

I stepped up to the curtain waiting to get on when Vixen exited the stage and slammed hard into me almost knocking me over. She sneered at me, "Have fun."

I gripped the cane tight trying to keep myself from swinging it at her head. I watched the lights go down on the stage as the MC announced me. Placing the cane against the wall, I stepped out on stage and waited for the lights to come up as Kylie Minogue's "Red Blooded Woman" began to play.

I hopped up and grabbed the pole and immediately slipped but recovered by doing a low flip and slid across the stage towards the edge of the stage keeping the rhythm. Someone greased the pole — Vixen, I grimaced internally.

I hung off the edge of the stage and began mouthing the words to the song as I pretended to serenade one of the men gave him a quick smile and wink as I reached and grabbed the empty chair next to him and flung it upward. I caught the chair midair and flipped it allowing it to sit on the stage and began my dance on the chair since the pole was out of commission.

And in all honesty, the chair gave me much more confidence and comfort than the pole ever did. I spotted the Kid on the side of the stage and I pointed at him and made a hand motion of stick. Smart kid, he caught on right away and tossed it out on stage to me as I caught it and twirled it around my head as if it were a baton.

I'm pretty good with a stick. Growing up I studied Wushu Stick Fighting with my _Sifu_ back in New York. The once useless skill has come in handy on many of occasions during my stint as a Bounty Hunter. And one of my prized possessions is a spring baton given to me by Ranger.

I sat down on the chair and tilted my hat as I straddled the chair and then put both hands on the cane and swiveled it. I looked back at the Kid and tossed him the cane and then flipped off my hat and flung it off stage. I placed both hands on the seat of the chair and flipped over the chair but kept my hold in it as I lifted the chair above me as I landed back on my feet and slid the chair off stage back onto the floor.

I stepped down on the chair with one foot the other on the table in front of me and shimmied my way down to the chair. I then took the back of the chair and spun it away from the stage and kicked it across the room sliding it to the middle of the room as the men standing in the way jumped back.

I walked seductively towards the chair and removed my jacket and waved it around the top of my head before letting it fly. My confidence was soaring at unmentionable heights as I was a few steps away from the chair. I slid my hand down the top front of my blouse and pumped my chest giving the illusion of my heart pumping.

I then pulled my hand out and dropped it how as I pumped the floor and slowly made my way up as my hands slid up the front of my shirt I tore it open revealing my black satin bra. I then did the last minute of my number on my chair in my hot pants and bra trying to ignore the fact that men were stuffing bills into every part of me that they could find.

Then suddenly as the music began the fade the group of men began cheering and I was suddenly lifted up in the air chair and everything. I continued dancing as they brought me towards the stage. I stepped up on the chair and leaned over seductively caressing some of the men as I made my climb back up onto the stage and blew the restaurant a kiss before the lights came back down.

I ran off stage and gave the Kid a big hug, thanking him for helping me out.

"I saw you slip. I almost ran out to make sure you were ok but you recovered so well. It's like you're a professional."

I laughed at him, "It's called I've taken a lot of spills in my lifetime and I've learned how to play them off."

"Shouldn't you be busing tables, brat?" a girl pushed past us.

"What happened?" the Kid asked.

"The pole was greased. You should have somebody go out there and take care of it."

He nodded and took off to talk to someone.

I entered the dressing room. I could feel the tension in the air as the women were all talking to each other angrily. One of them spoke up saying that they needed to get better time spots or she wasn't going to be able to take care of rent this month. Another was saying that they haven't been asked to the Champagne Room in months.

Vixen was sitting at her vanity table and rolled her eyes before coating on more mascara. I sat down in my chair and grabbed my cellphone and texted Manny to ask him to request for my presence in the Champagne Room and make a big fuss about it.

Minutes later Mosca showed up in the dressing room. "Sandy, you're being requested in the Champagne Room."

The girls began to shout angrily.

"That's not fair. She's new!" most of the girls were saying all at once.

I sat and pretended to look shocked.

"This gentleman is willing to pay double for us to break the newbie rule. This is my call and I'm allowing it," he said firmly. He walked towards me and pulled out of my chair. "He's willing to pay a lot for you and I want to make sure that you keep him happy. Do you understand?"

My eyes grew wide as I nodded my eyes.

"Good. I want you to wear this. Get yourself cleaned up and find Bosco," he patted the man next to him, "when you're ready. You have ten minutes." He turned to leave but then hesitated and grabbed my chin and pulled me into his lips. "You did good tonight," and he left.

I put on what looked like a one piece bathing suit with fringe all over it and was cut out everywhere leaving very little to the imagination. I stepped out of the room as the women all threw glares and very unlady-like hand gestures in my direction. I found Bosco standing outside the door.

He began to lead me down the hall but then suddenly took a turn into the bathroom and shoved me quickly inside. His hands moved up the length of my body as he pressed himself up against me.

"What are you doing?" I yelled, trying to scramble away from him. "I was told that the staff was not to fraternize with each other."

"I won't tell if you don't tell, sweetheart," he moved towards me rapidly.

He wrapped his massive hands around my throat and held me up against the wall and began working on his belt when the door was kicked in.

"Put the girl down, Bosco. I've warned you about the girls. If you try this again, I'm going straight to Mosca and no longer giving you a way out," Trixie threatened.

Holy shit, she had a revolver in her hand. He grunted and released his grip on me.

"Come on, Suge," she grabbed my hand, "you have a customer waiting," she led me out the door and into the bar after stuffing her revolver into her waist.

She led me across the room towards a curtain and pulled it open. Sitting there was Manny surrounded by some other girls on a horseshoe shaped black leather couch.

"Mr. Juarez, here's China Doll as you requested," Trixie introduced me.

The room was small but I suppose it was also intimate as it was enclosed by curtains and the couch was enough to spread out on. The table in front of him had a stripper pole attached to it and buckets of ice with liquor and champagne surrounding it.

I stood there shyly next to Trixie not knowing what my next move is.

"Don't just stand there, Suge, go get acquainted," she commanded me.

"Leave us!" Manny barked out. "I wish to be alone with this one," he pointed at me seductively. His eyes were hooded and dark. But why the hell was he speaking with an accent.

"No!" some of the girls cried out as they immediately attached themselves to him, feeling him up, kissing him. Heat began to rise up around me as I wanted to tear the girls limb from limb.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Juarez, but it is company policy and the safety of our girls that they not be alone with a patron while they're on the clock," Trixie informed him.

"How is everything in here," Mosca entered the room happily and then immediately frowned at me still standing next to Trixie.

"I paid double to be with the girl and I want to just be with the girl!" Manny looked like he was growing restless as he swatted the girls away.

I tried to hold back the tiniest smile trying to creep up on my lips as he pushed the girls away from him as if they were diseased.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Juarez, but company policy—" Trixie began.

Mosca held up his hand cutting Trixie off, "Give, Mr. Juarez, what he wants. But, Mr. Juarez, we can only allow you half an hour alone with the girl and then we'll send the rest of the girls back in. I'm afraid that's as good as I can give you."

"Fine. Now leave!" he demanded.

Why was him ordering everyone around like he was a hotshot so fucking hot?

The girls gave me a pointed look as they left and then there I was alone with Manny. I immediately launched myself at him and threw my arms around him.

He wiped the tears from my cheeks as his eyes filled with concern. "Are you ok?"

I nodded my head vigorously, "I am now."

"I saw what that brute did to you in the bathroom. Deuce is going to have _words_ with him later," his voice dropped to a chilling low.

I'm always forgetting about my surveillance jewelry. "This is really hard, Manny," I sighed laying my head on his chest. "It's not just the dancing, but the girls are all out to get me. There're so many obstacles."

He kissed the top of my head, "From what I've been witnessing, you're doing a hell of a job. The whole team is amazed that you've pulled it off this far."

"They're not the only ones," I rolled my eyes. "By the way, what's with the accent?" I smacked him in the chest.

He chuckled, "What you don't like it?"

"Oh on the contrary. I find it very sexy."

A rich beautiful sound slipped out of his lips once more, "I thought if I was going to throw around money, I should be some foreign dignitary."

I nodded understanding.

"As much as I love holding you, don't you think you should dance some and pretend to entertain me? We need to keep our cover in case they come back at any time."

I sat up, straddling his lap and nodded. I began to swirl my hips around slowly. "I think I found something in Mosca's office closet but I had to get out before he caught me. But I think that the hidden room that Kyle told Rodney about can be entered through the closet."

Manny let out a strangled moan as he grabbed my hips and stilled me. His eyes dark and fixed on me, "Are you trying to kill me?"

"What?" I asked him in shock.

"Please don't actually rub up against me. I'm only human."

I blushed and apologized quickly and stepped up onto the table and began dancing with the pole.

His eyes were fixated on me. "Do you think you can get back in there without getting caught?"

I nodded my head, "I think so. He's not in there very often. He's a real busy body."

"Well, let's try to wrap up this operation as soon as possible so that you can stop torturing me."

I smiled down at him. "Is this making you uncomfortable, Mr. Juarez?" and crawled back into his lap.

He let out a low groan as I ran my hand through his hair. The curtain was angrily pushed open as the girls returned to the room including lead by Vixen. What the hell? She wasn't one of the girls in here earlier.

She took a seat next to Manny and me and grabbed the bottle of champagne and popped it open giggling as it spilled out the nose of the bottle and she began pouring glasses. She handed me and Manny our glasses first and smiled wickedly.

"Now let's turn this into a real party!"

I gave Manny a quick pointed glance hoping his ESP was in full working detail pleading to him that he should remember that I don't hold my alcohol very well. He grabbed the back of my head roughly and pulled me down into his neck and began running kisses along the side of my neck, "Don't worry. I'll take care of you."

Good 'ole Merry Men ESP, I smiled and sat back taking a nice refreshing sip of champagne.

"Oh come on! You can do better than that!" Vixen exclaimed tilting the glass up, egging me to down the entire glass. She then poured me another glass and next thing you know, we're all laughing, drinking and having a grand 'ole time.

* * *

_So this Vixen chick seems to be nothing but trouble. Any ideas of how Alyssa can get back at her for the ruined wardrobe and greased up stripper pole? _


	19. Chapter 19

_**A/N: **I know! I suck! Sorry I didn't post last week. It was a crazy week. But this week should be slower so I'll post more often this week and then I'll probably go on hiatus again next week due to me being out of town on business. But I hope that this chapter makes up for my absence from last week. Enjoy! ~Angie_

_**Previous Chapter: **__Good 'ole Merry Men ESP, I smiled and sat back taking a nice refreshing sip of champagne. _

_ "Oh come on! You can do better than that!" Vixen exclaimed tilting the glass up, egging me to down the entire glass. She then poured me another glass and next thing you know, we're all laughing, drinking and having a grand 'ole time._

* * *

**CHAPTER 19**

It was so fucking hot in the room. And my body felt like it was being pinned down by a ton of bricks. Was there an explosion? Am I trapped in a burning car or building? All I can feel is an explosion in my head as my head rang from the pain which could only be explained by a hangover. But if I was trapped in a fire, why weren't there sirens in the distance?

I pried my eyes open and realized that I wasn't in a burning car, I was in a bed. And in this bed with me was a grown half naked man draped across me effectively suffocating me. I looked down and found Manny's head nuzzled in my breast.

"Wake up!" I shouted in a panic trying to shove him off of me.

He rolled over and groaned, "What time is it?"

"Fuck the time!" I cried out loudly.

"What's wrong?" he rose from the bed and his eyes grew wide and panic-stricken. "W-What are you doing in a w-wedding dress?"

"You tell me!" I shouted angrily. "You said you were going to take care of me last night. What the fuck happened?"

He ran his hand through his hair and began muttering something in Spanish.

"You two acted like idiots. That's what the fuck happened," a voice said from the corner of the room.

"How long have you been there?" I gasped.

"All night," Deuce replied from the armchair in the corner of the room very eerily Rangesque-like.

"You've been just watching us sleep like a creeper?" I shouted at him.

"Someone needed to babysit you two amateurs so you didn't get into trouble," he smirked.

"So we didn't…you know…" I said slowly and felt my face flush.

"No, you got back after the chapel and passed out cold."

"Chapel?" Manny and I both cried out in unison.

Deuce nodded, "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Juarez."

"I don't understand how this happened," I began to cry.

Manny slid over to me and wrapped his arms around me, "Don't cry, Bomber. I'm sure this is just a big mistake."

"This is your fault!" I smacked him in his beautifully sculpted bare chest. "You gave me the ok to drink. I trusted you!" I pulled out of his embrace.

He grabbed my hand, "Alyssa, it's very rare for me to get drunk. I haven't been drunk since high school. I can handle my liquor. I don't know what happened last night."

I yanked my hand back, "What if something else happened? And why didn't you stop us!" I shouted at Deuce.

He shrugged, "If I had, I would've ruined all of our covers. It was just best to let it all happen and fall into place. Besides I didn't want to ruin your fun. You two seemed to be enjoying yourselves quite a bit," he smirked and handed me his phone.

There we were. Manny and I at the chapel making out like a couple of horny teenagers with some of the girls from the club among them was Vixen. She kept pushing champagne on us and telling us to "do it!"

I studied her movements carefully and noticed her dipping her finger into both of our drinks. "She ruffied us!" I exclaimed. "That fucking bitch ruffied our drinks! But why the hell would she push me to marry some rich guy? You'd think she'd try doing that for herself, not for someone she's trying to get rid of."

_Buzz. Buzz. _

I grabbed my cell phone off of the nightstand. "Ranger," I mouthed to Manny and hit ignore, returning it back to the night stand.

_Buzz. Buzz. _

Manny's pocket vibrated. He grabbed his phone and instantly his Rangeman blank face slid into place, "Yo. Sir. Yes, Sir." He handed the phone over to me and walked out of the room with Deuce following behind him and shut the door.

I stared at the phone wondering what to do. I lifted the phone to my ear and waited.

"Babe, are you going to say something? I can hear you breathing."

"I think I'd rather not."

"Babe, why'd you ignore my call?"

I scrunched my nose.

"Your trackers are still on."

Oh shit! I quickly removed the earrings and flipped off the necklace placing it on the dresser.

"Anything you want to tell me, Babe?"

"Uh…I plead the fifth?"

"Babe," he paused. "I see there's a congratulations is in order," his voice hinting the slightest bit of discontent.

"Is that a question or an actual congratulations?" I asked with a little too much courage considering the shitstorm I was currently in.

"Babe."

"Oh, I'm glad to know that my few days away from home hasn't changed the man of few words," I replied sarcastically.

"The marriage isn't real. You're using your fake identities."

_Oh thank god._

"Maybe it's better this way. Gives Manny an excuse to be around you more often and keep Mosca's hands off of you." I could hear and feel the hardness in his tone.

"I can handle Mosca**."**

"You're doing well, Babe, but you need to be careful."

"Ranger, if I didn't know any better, I would think that you cared for me," I smirked.

"Babe, you know that I care about you," his voice hinted exasperation. "Try to come back in one piece."

"Nothing's going to happen. Remember I'm one of the luckiest girls on earth. Plus, if I can handle psychopath boxers, street gangs, and crazed serial kills, I'm pretty sure I can handle one lowly mob boss."

"Babe, you are something," his voice lightened.

"Plus, I have Manny by my side—"

He grunted.

"You have a problem with Manny?"

"He should have been more careful."

"We were ruffied. From the video shot she was pretty discreet so I'm not surprised he missed it. Cut him some slack. And I mean there could be worse things than being married to a sexy, hot, Puerto Rican. It's unfortunate that I don't remember a thing."

He growled.

I chuckled, "Also, I have Mr. Stick Up His Ass hiding in the shadows."

"Deuce?"

I nodded and quickly answered realizing he couldn't see me, "Yup. I think he's even more of a tight ass than you are."

"Babe," I could hear his smile.

"Don't worry so much. Unfortunately for me, you're watching and listening my every move."

"Babe, don't go crazy."

_Click._

I shrugged, that's probably the best goodbye I'm ever going to get out of Ranger. I stepped out into the living room to find everyone staring back at me.

"Short Round! How dare you get married and not invite us!" Lula shouted at me.

I stood gaping at them.

"We were looking for you last night and some kid told us that you were entertaining some rich customer and you'd probably be detained all night. Little did we know you'd go and get hitched to one of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," Lula exclaimed in exasperation.

"And, here, I always thought you'd ask me to be your Matron of Honor," Misty replied sarcastically.

"Short Round, that's some hot rock you got there on your finger!" Lula shouted grabbing my hand.

I hadn't even noticed it but it was a beautiful diamond. I blinked at it for several seconds before looking at Manny.

He shrugged, "In my drunken state, I suppose I'm still smart enough to give you the best."

"We have to return it!" I cried out.

"Not until after everything's settled here," Deuce replied calmly. "For now, you're husband and wife and you need to keep up appearances."

"I'm going to kill that fucking bitch," I muttered. "She thinks she can sabotage my number and then drug me into marrying some sexy wealthy man. She's got another coming."

"Sexy?" Manny quirked an eyebrow as a smile crept up the corners of his lips.

I waved him off, "You know you're sexy so don't act so surprised. All of you Merry Men are. I think it's a part of the Rangeman application process: must be tall, well built, and sexy as hell and display next to no emotions."

"Well, we're out of here," Lula spoke up. "White Girl and me are going to hit some spot we heard about that sells off-season discounted designer shoes."

I pouted. I wanted to go shoe shopping.

"I'll pick up something for you if I spot anything that screams, Alyssa," Misty said giving me a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. I loved her.

They walked out the door and left me standing in front of two men dripping with sexiness and me in a wedding dress.

"Well," I clasped my hands, "I'm going to get out of this dress and get ready for the day. You boys have anything on the agenda for the day?"

"Now that you're _married_, Manny can stay close to you. I'm going to stake out Mosca and his men," Deuce replied and walked out the door.

"I think he has a stick up his ass," I mumbled.

"He's not so bad," Manny defended him. "He's just being a good solider." He stalked towards me as his eyes darkened. "You really do make a beautiful bride," he caressed my cheek. "So what would you like to do today, Wifey?"

I smiled at him, "Let's go spend some of your money in the casinos, Mr. Moneybags. I need to take advantage of being married to a foreign dignitary."

That brought on a full on grin from Manny, "Well, I suppose we can arrange that now that you're Mrs. Moneybags. But is that what you really want to do?"

"Yes, and you know those card dealers hear a great deal of conversations. Who knows what they could've picked up?"

"Why, wifey, you're quite the clever one aren't you?"

"Oh you have no idea, hubby. Surprises only come with marrying the Bomber," I winked at him. "Now help me out of this damn dress. The bodice is cutting off my air circulation."

"Your wish is my command, wifey," he swept me off of my feet and carried me into the bedroom bridal style.

* * *

_There certainly could be worse things than being married to the ever so sexy Puerto Rican, Manny. Am I right? So I think Alyssa should do a little bit of payback to this Vixen chick. Any ideas? _


	20. Chapter 20

_**Previous Chapter: **__"Why, wifey, you're quite the clever one aren't you?"_

_ "Oh you have no idea, hubby. Surprises only come with marrying the Bomber," I winked at him. "Now help me out of this damn dress. The bodice is cutting off my air circulation."_

_ "Your wish is my command, wifey," he swept me off of my feet and carried me into the bedroom bridal style._

* * *

**CHAPTER 20**

Before slipping through the thick door, I nodded at the Kid and shut the door. Heading straight towards the closet, I realized I needed to work quickly if I wanted to find out what was behind that door. I'm not sure if the Kid would be a reliable look out or not but it was better than nothing.

"Hey boys, it's going to get really dark in here for a minute so I'm going to talk," I whispered knowing that Rangeman was monitoring my movements.

I shut the closet door behind me and pulled out my cell phone nestled in my bra and used it as a flash light. "I believe there's a door behind these boxes, so I'm going to move them over a bit and squeeze through to get to the door."

I worked carefully shifting the boxes over slightly so that I could maneuver through them. I thought back to the day with Manny at the casinos and us acting like two excited newlyweds. Before you start letting your mind wander, nothing has happened between us except for maybe a few innocent stolen kisses for the sake of our cover.

Why the hell not, you also may be thinking. Well, because I just got out of my relationship with Joe and deep down inside I'm still heartbroken over Ranger. There is just something about him that has me all tied up in knots that I can't seem to put my finger on.

"I'm squeezing through the boxes now," I stopped as my phone buzzed.

BATMAN: _Be careful. Are you dressed?_

I texted him back – _Yup fully clothed. If anything happens, I'll throw my phone at the attacker. Perfectly fine. _

BATMAN: _Babe. Gun?_

_ Ranger. I don't do guns. Bye._

I slipped the phone back into my bra and reached around for the door knob and pushed it open. I came face-to-face with a pair of stairs that led down to what seemed like a damp creepy cellar. I was instantly taken back to all those horror films. Nothing good ever happens in a basement cellar. My phone continued to vibrate against my chest. I checked it real quick before entering the deep dark abyss.

BATMAN: _Don't go. Let Deuce check it out. _

BATMAN: _Stop ignoring me. This is an order._

BATMAN_: Babe!_

BATMAN_: Alyssa, I mean it._

Shit he called me by my name. Ranger rarely does that unless he's incredibly seriously. I texted back: _Chill out. I'm just going to check it out and leave. Stop texting me or I won't be able to tell if it's an emergency or not._

I shoved the phone back into my bra and made my way down the stairs. A chill spread throughout my body and I wish I had more clothes on than by dance getup.

The lights flickered the way that you would expect in a creepy, damp cellar. But the room looked like it was mostly used for storage for unmarked boxes. I moved through the room slowly trying to spot anything out of the ordinary and walked closer to the creepy blinking light.

Now I seriously knew I was in a bad horror film because underneath of a single light bulb sat a man who had been beaten to a bloody pulp strapped down and gaged to a metal chair. The minute his realization that someone was in the room with him startling him out of his half-conscious state, his eyes flew open as if he was pleading to me for help.

"Kyle?" I asked carefully moving towards him. "Kyle Baxter?"

He nodded quickly.

I pulled the gag down out of his mouth.

"Who are you? Can you help me out of here?"

"I'm Alyssa Chau. I talked to your girlfriend who's been trying to look for you. I've been looking for Mitch Cruz. Do you know where he is?"

He shook his head, "I found him here and I was going to go to the cops but he talked me out of it. Told me he was being ransomed for money from his wealthy girlfriend's family. He said if I kept quiet and helped him get out of there, he would split the ransom fee with me," he tried explaining as I worked on the rope around his hands.

I really should've attempted to join some sort of girl scouts group when I was younger. These knots were complicated and a pain!

"I left him to go make arrangements for a safe house to hide out in the meantime and tried to prep my girlfriend as best as I could. Everything was set and I came back to release him but was caught by Mosca. The asshole escaped and took off without me leaving me behind."

_Buzz. Buzz._

KID:_ HIS GOONS ARE ON THEIR WAY. I TRIED TO STOP THEM. NO LUCK._

"Fuck! His men are in the office," I whispered loudly feverishly trying to work at the knots.

My head shot up when I heard the sound of a door creaking open followed by heavy boots slowly descending down the stairs.

"It's ok. Go hide. I don't want anything to happen to you," Kyle said quickly. "If anything happens, please tell my girlfriend I'm sorry and that I love her."

I stood up and replaced the gag over his mouth and mouthed, "Sorry," to him.

He looked back at with sad eyes but nodded his head that it was ok.

I scurried over to the dark corner and positioned myself behind several boxes when two of Mosca's men approached Kyle. One of the men who was built like a mountain with long dark, greasy, wavy hair yanked off Kyle's gag off.

"Boss is getting tired of you. You going to tell us where the fuck Cruz is?" he yelled flipping out a large hunting knife.

"I told you I don't know where he went," Kyle replied in an exasperated voice. "I was just helping him get free and he left me behind. I don't even know who he is."

"I KNOW YOU'RE LYING TO ME!" he slammed the knife into Kyle's thigh and a loud strangled cry rang throughout the small airless room.

I clamped my hands tightly over my mouth to keep myself from crying out.

"Bruno, come on man. Let's get this over with. The boss doesn't want to waste his time with this fool anymore," the calmer skinner man commanded the man whose name suited him just fine.

He pulled out the knife from Kyle's thigh and looked at him menacingly. "You're time's run out," he said and swiftly sliced open Kyle's throat.

Blood was spurting in all directions as I watched Kyle choke and go limp within a matter of seconds. I pressed myself up against the wall and held my hand firmly to my mouth as tears streamed down my eyes.

"Bruno! You fucking idiot. Boss wanted this to be clean. Why didn't you just shoot the idiot in the head or choke him to death. You're cleaning this fucking mess up," skinny man yelled.

Bruno shrugged and wiped off his blade on a clean spot on Kyle's clothes. Which I don't know where was a clean spot because it was a fucking blood bath in that corner. He turned and stalked back to the stairs, followed by the other man. I waited a few minutes after I heard the door slam shut.

_Buzz. Buzz._

KID: _ARE YOU OK? I JUST SAW THEM LEAVE AND HEAD BACK INTO THE CLUB. _

_I'm fine. Coming out._

I avoided looking at the mess and hurried up the stairs and knocked over a box that was now pushed closer to the door as I tried slipping through. Boxes of designer shoes tumbled out of the unmarked box. I quickly tried putting them back in as quickly as I could and walked out the door.

"Are you ok?" the Kid was suddenly by my side.

I nodded.

"You're so pale. They didn't find you, did they?"

"I wouldn't be here if they did, now would I?" I cocked him an attitude which I instantly regretted. "I'm not feeling so good right now. I should go get cleaned up for my next number."

I walked into the dressing room where the girls all stopped and began snickering at me.

The words "BITCH" was written on my mirror with red lipstick and all of my makeup was destroyed and tossed haphazardly all over my vanity. I twisted and turned toward towards Vixen.

"I know what you did last night, drugging us and encouraging us to elope."

She shrugged, "What if I did? You need to learn who the top banana here is."

I grabbed her hair and yanked her head back roughly, "You don't want to fucking mess with me, bitch. You have no idea who I am and what I'm capable of."

She swung her arm out at me trying to tear me away from her fake hair. I released my grip on her as she took another swing at me. I kicked the leg out from her chair and sent her falling backwards on her back.

"You fucking bitch!" she screeched.

I looked down and noticed small traces of blood on edges of my shoes and immediately hurled right next to Vixen. She jumped up about five hundred feet into the air and screamed.

Trixie busted into the room, "What's with all of the commotion?"

I was hunched over, "I'm not feeling well."

"Suge, go home now before you get the rest of the girls sick," she demanded.

"She fucking tried to vomit on me!" Vixen shouted in disgust.

I wasn't going to argue with her so I wiped my mouth on my arm real fast and grabbed my bag not caring about my state of dress as I ran out the side door to the alley that lead to the parking lot.

Tears streaming down my eyes as I made my way through the dark alley towards the light when I slammed into a wall, a hand clamped over my mouth as I tried to scream out in fear.

"Shhh…it's me," Deuce whispered into my ear so that Rangeman could also hear.

I crumpled into his arms. "Take me back, please. I want to go back," I wept.

"Ok," he said gently and lifted me into his arms and carried me back to his truck.

Before putting the car into drive, he handed me pack of tissues and a box of altoids. I sniffled loudly and blew my nose and extracted a mint before laying my head down on his lap. I could feel him jump in a startled manner as I laid my head down on his lap. He then awkwardly began stroking my arm gently as we drove in silence.

We got back to my apartment and Deuce supported me as I leaned against him. The minute we walked through the door I was accosted by Misty and Lula. Manny stood behind them with concern filled eyes.

"Bones called me and told me what happened," Misty embraced me. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I don't know what's wrong with me," huge tears overwhelmed my eyes. "I've witnessed far worse. I don't know why this is getting to me," I slobbered all over myself referring to the time I witnessed the brutal rape and slaughter of Candy, Lula's former hooker friend.

"You're just going through a lot. Your emotions are running high," Misty tried consoling me. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

I shook my head, "I just want to go to sleep. Rest will help me get refreshed to jump into our next plan tomorrow."

She nodded her head sympathetically.

"Short Round," Lula said with a wisp of courage as she squeezed my arm and Misty lead her back to the bedroom.

"I can't believe you went in there without backup," Manny said sternly. "I've told you so many times that we don't work without letting your partner know your plans or without backup. By the time, Deuce or I knew what was going on it was too late for us to do anything about it. What if you were caught?" he said enraged. "I swear, Alyssa, sometimes you can be so careless!"

I swallowed hard and took in the berating that Manny was dishing out at me. And honestly, I was slightly scared. Manny has never raised his voice at me. In fact, none of the Merry Men have raised their voices at me before.

"I'm sorry," I squeaked. "I didn't think there was any harm in checking it out."

"THAT'S THE PROBLEM, ALYSSA! YOU DON'T THINK!" he shouted at the top of his lungs startling me.

I fell backwards into Deuce.

"FUCK!" he ran his hand down his reddening face. "I need to get out of here. Answer Ranger's damn phone calls! I'll see you in the morning."

I stood there in shock as Manny walked around us and slammed the door behind him shaking the entire unit.

"He's right," Deuce spoke up without any committal emotion in his voice.

"I know," I said quietly.

"You're reckless."

"I know," I repeated, spinning around to face him.

"You're insubordinate."

"I know," my voice hitched slightly in anger.

"You're a danger to everyone around you."

"I know!" I cried out.

"You think the rules don't apply to you."

"I KNOW!" I spat at him and slammed my fist into his chest. "Don't you think I know that already?"

He grabbed my wrists and pulled me into him and said in a matter of fact voice, "Then why don't you do something about it?"

I stood quietly staring into this blank faced man who was my new partner who I'm sure hated my guts and felt like he pulled the short end of the stick for being paired up with me. I laid my forehead down on his chest.

"I'm sorry," I said letting my temper simmer.

He released my wrists and gently placed his hand on my back. We stood like that what felt like an eternity as I tried to borrow his strength and calmness.

He took a step back, "You need to call the boss and get some rest."

I reached out and grasped his hand, "Please don't go yet."

He gave me a slightly confused look before nodding his head.

"Let me get cleaned up real quick," I smiled at him and disappeared in the room. I removed my jewelry and placed them on the dresser. Plopping down on the bed I pulled out my phone and dialed out.

"Babe?"

"Ranger," I sniffled.

"You ok?"

I nodded. "Yeah," I said softly.

"Proud of you, Babe."

I stopped breathing for a few minutes trying to understand why the hell he would say that at this particular moment.

"You handled the situation calmly and didn't give away your position."

"But I broke down afterwards."

"Yes, but only afterwards. Not during."

"Manny's royally pissed at me."

"So is the rest of the team. But it's only because you scared everyone. He'll get over it."

"I miss you."

_Pause._

"I miss you too, Babe."

"I take it all back."

"Take what back," he said with a hint of concern.

"That you're just an acquaintance. You can be my best friend again. I need your encouragement to help me keep going."

"Good to hear," he said with amusement.

"Friends?"

"Forever, Babe. Forever."

_Click._

I smiled at my phone at least something good happened tonight.

* * *

_Well?! Are we still in love with Manny after his outburst? _


	21. Chapter 21

_**A/N: **A bit of a longer chapter to hold us over for the holiday weekend for us Americans. Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July celebration! ~Angie_

_**Previous Chapter: **__"I take it all back."_

_ "Take what back," he said with a hint of concern._

_ "That you're just an acquaintance. You can be my best friend again. I need your encouragement to help me keep going."_

_ "Good to hear," he said with amusement. _

_ "Friends?"_

_ "Forever, Babe. Forever."_

_ Click._

_ I smiled at my phone at least something good happened tonight._

* * *

**CHAPTER 21**

"You're making me nervous just sitting in the corner like that," I said to the dark figure in the corner of my room.

"What would make you less nervous?" Deuce replied.

"Come sit over here?" I said unsure but patted the empty space on the bed. "Please?"

He stood up and sat down awkwardly next to me leaning his back against the headboard.

"Thank you," I said relieved and snuggled up against his side. "There's something weird about what Mosca is doing. I think all of those boxes in the cellar were high end shoes. Why does Mosca have a ton of boxes of designer women's shoes?"

Deuce shrugged, "Maybe he has a shoe fetish?"

I giggled, imagining Mosca prancing around in designer high heel shoes. "What are we going to do about Kyle? They're going to dispose the body."

"Don't worry about it. Ranger's contracted some men to keep an eye on them and tip off the police."

"Ranger contracted people?"

"You didn't think he just let the three of us out here to follow up on this alone, did you? If something went down, we need to make sure the backup is readily available."

"Have you heard from Manny?"

"He checked in a few minutes ago. He's back at his hotel."

A tear fell from my eye as I nodded, "Do you mind staying until I fall asleep? I've been having trouble sleeping alone lately."

"No problem. Go to sleep."

"Thank you. You're not a total and complete asshole, after all," I sniffed quietly and drifted off.

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

I stretched awake and found Manny sitting on the edge of my bed the next morning.

"Manny?"

"I'm still mad at you," he replied solemnly.

"I know. I'm sorry," I said sitting up.

"What did you think I was supposed to do without my wifey?" he said gently as he caressed my cheek.

I held his hand on my face and rested my forehead on his, "You'd move on and marry a better wife? One that doesn't blow up things?"

"Not funny."

I shrugged, "You guys put yourself at risk everyday a hell of a lot more than I do. What's the difference?"

"The difference is that if something were to happen to you. A little piece of every one of us will die with you," he closed his eyes and pressed his lips hard against mine. "Don't ever do anything like that to me again."

I smiled at him, "You know I can't promise that. I mean look at who you're talking to."

He let out a sigh and sat back, "You age a man, Alyssa. The least you could do is humor me."

I sat up on my knees and laid a kiss on his cheek. "Can't. I need to keep my hubby on his toes. Need to keep a little bit of mystery and excitement in the marriage."

He tossed me back down on the bed, "There will never be any doubt in my mind that you would keep a marriage less than exciting," and began tickling me until I was blue in the face and I begged for his mercy.

"What time is anyways?" I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Almost noon."

"You let me sleep that long? How long have you been sitting there?"

"Since I relieved Deuce of 'Bomber Duty' at four this the morning."

"You've been sitting there this whole time?" my eyes grew wide.

"I wasn't sitting the entire time. I slept with you and held you in my arms trying to calm myself."

"I don't remember any of this," I shook my head in disbelief.

"That's because you sleep like the dead which can be pretty terrifying. Any idiot could break into that apartment of yours and kidnap you in your sleep."

I frowned.

"Are you going to stay in bed all day? Because if you are, I'm going to need to make sure you get some physical activity out of it so you don't turn into your version of the Marshmallow Man," he wagged his eyebrow suggestively.

"You keep flirting like that, Manny, and people are going to think there's some truth behind it," I smacked him.

"Who says there's no truth behind what I'm saying?" he said innocently.

"I think you could give Les a run for his money in the flirtatious department. I thought he was the worst but I think you're coming in dangerously close."

"I've got more game than Santos," he grinned, shutting the door behind him.

Later when I entered the living room, Lula and Misty were sitting amongst a dozen boxes of shoes, Manny and Deuce standing by the kitchen discussing something.

"Did you guys buy the entire shoe store?" I asked picking up a pair of _Coach_ pumps. "Oh my God, please don't tell me you guys robbed a bank! These must've cost a fortune."

"Short Round, it's amazing. It's this secret place that sells designer shoes for half the price. I almost stabbed a bitch for these," she held up a pair of hot pink satin _Prada_ pumps.

I picked up a pair of black and white striped peep-toed _Louboutins_ with a bow embellishment on them. A pang of jealous crawled up my skin as I scrunched my nose at the gorgeous shoes.

"Don't pout. Those are yours," Misty spoke up. "But don't get too excited these are all knock offs."

"Knock offs?" I scrunched my nose inspecting the shoe closer.

"Yeah, there's no way these shoes are going for as cheap as they are if they're the real things," Misty replied simply and she's easy to believe because she knows fashion. "If you look closely at the stitching around the sole, there's evidence that it was glued and not hand-stitched. If you smell the leather, you can smell the chemicals used to create that faux leather. And the inner lining is cheaply attached; notice the unevenness of the cut."

"Damn, you're right," I said sniffing the shoe and recoiled at the repugnant fumes.

"I don't give a shit. They look real and I'm gonna wear the shit out of them," Lula exclaimed.

I sat back and thought out loud, "Mosca's got tons of boxes of designer shoes sitting in boxes in that cellar and his costume room has an odd influx of designer shoes for a bunch of strippers."

"He could be in the business of selling knockoffs. It's a very lucrative black market business," Misty says.

"What if Mitch stumbled upon that goldmine of information and tried to blackmail Mosca or get a cut in it for himself."

"Manny!" I shouted.

"Wifey, I'm right next to you," he replied standing next to the couch.

"Oh, sorry," I blushed. "You think you can find out where Mosca's warehouse is or where he brings in shipment?"

"Sure, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. The contract guys could probably do some digging."

Deuce nodded his head and walked off to make a phone call.

"I know we've only been here for a couple of days but I'm ready to get the hell out of dodge. Let's find this asshole and get our asses back home," I stated.

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

"Why did you agree to let her come?" Deuce growled at Manny as I crouched down below them behind a bunch of crates.

"He didn't agree to anything. I came along because I'm a part of this operation if not more a part of it than you are," I grit back.

"Well, stay low and out of the way," he threatened.

I stuck my tongue out at the back of his head.

"I saw that," he said before carefully moving forward to get a better view and handle on what was being said.

"Did you really think that you could steal from me and get away with it you fucking fungus!" Mosca spat smashing his fist into Mitch's nose.

Mitch's nose spurt out blood as the skinny henchman handed Mosca a handkerchief.

Earlier in the afternoon, the contract guys went in search for the warehouse and found it but it wasn't just that little tidbit that they witnessed. They witnessed Mosca's men catching Mitch in the act of loading some of the crates of knockoff shoes onto the back of a truck.

"You should've fucking ran when you had the chance, but you're a fucking greedy bastard who just couldn't help himself," he spat out. "Do it," he nodded at Bruno.

Bruno cut Mitch's hands free from the rope and put his hand on the crate in front of him and with precise rapid movement, he sliced off his pinky.

Mitch howled in agony. "I'm sorry, Mosca. I can get you money. My girlfriend's brother is the owner of a successful security business. He bleeds money," he bargained.

My blood was pumping.

"She hasn't paid a single penny yet for your safe return. What makes you think you have such a hold on this girl?"

"She just needs some reassurance from me. Let me talk to her. I can convince her."

"We've got Cruz targeted, Boss. Are all of your assets secured?" Deuce said in a low voice into his vest.

"Everything's secure. When you have the opportunity strike," Ranger's voice rang through all of our earpieces.

"Good, cause I'm going in," I said into the vest and stood up, walking quickly towards the men. I grabbed a hold of my spring baton and flipped it out. "I've heard enough," I growled. "Put your weapons down you're surrounded."

"China doll?" Mosca turned around in surprise.

"I should kill you for giving me such an offensive stage name."

"What are you doing here?" he questioned.

"I'm here to take that idiot, right there," I pointed at Mitch, "with me. His dear girlfriend's brother sent me here to collect him, so I'm here to collect."

"He made a grave mistake," he nodded at the skinny henchman who pulled out his phone and placed a call.

"No answer, boss," he frowned.

"Sorry, you'll find that all of your men are indisposed. You messed with the wrong family, Mosca. Ranger doesn't take kindly to those who threaten his family."

The contract men slowly began closing in on us.

"Put your weapons down and your hands in the air," I instructed.

"You think that I'm stupid enough to not come with back up too, _China Doll_?" he smirked.

A gunshot fired from the rafters and hit one of the contract men in the shoulder. Manny immediately raised his rifle and shot the man out of the rafters.

Bruno lunged at me with his hunting knife. I dodged, raised my baton in the air and brought it down on his arm causing him to release the knife and smashed my elbow into his nose, kicking the knife out of the way. There were was an exchange of gunfire between Mosca's men and the Rangemen.

As I was attacking Bruno, skinny guy joined in. Mosca turned to flee. I pulled out my stun gun and stabbed it into his neck causing him to collapse to the ground. Bruno picked me up and threw me into Mitch. I scrambled back up to my feet. Mitch got up and took off out of the warehouse.

"Someone go after him!" I shouted.

One of the contractors immediately took off after Mitch as I continued my hand-to-hand combat battle with the two henchmen. Ok, it was their hands and my baton but I still think it's a fair fight considering its two against one!

The battle was going on for what felt like hours. My muscles were fatiguing and I was starting to get tired of being picked up and thrown into crates. Not matter how many times I smashed my baton into this ogre; it didn't seem to faze him.

Bruno had me by the scruff of my neck when Deuce showed up and smashed the end of his rifle down on the man's head. He immediately released me and slumped to the ground. I turned around and found Manny had also rendered the other man unconscious.

I looked around the warehouse where the contract men were securing the rest of Mosca's men. Where does Ranger seem to find an influx of tall gorgeous men to work for him even on the other side of the country?

"Let me go!" Mitch shouted as one of the contract guys dragged him into the warehouse by the back of his shirt.

The man dropped him on the ground in front of us. "What do you want to do with him?"

Manny nodded at him, "Help secure the other men. We'll take care of him."

I shoved Manny out of the way and grabbed Mitch by the front of his shirt, dropping him on the crate so that he was now at semi eye level with me.

"You picked the wrong family to mess with, Mitch. I want you to call Cami and tell her that you're not coming home and that you're breaking up with her. I want you to tell her to move on with her life because you're moving on with yours," I grit into his face.

"Why the fuck would I do that, bitch?" he spat at me.

I backhanded him across the face, "Because if you don't, these men behind me are going to do far worse to you than I can ever image. Then you'll be shipped back to Trenton in a box delivered directly to Ranger who will make sure nobody ever sees you ever again."

He swallowed hard, "But I love her."

"Bullshit," I shouted. "You wouldn't have hurt her the way you did if you truly cared for her, you selfish bastard! I'm going to give you five seconds to make your decision." The boys closed in on us a little more.

"Fine! I'll do it!" he cried out.

I pulled out my cell phone and dialed out.

"Yo."

"Is Cami with you?"

"Yes."

"Put her on."

I pressed the speaker button and handed Mitch the phone. I reached over and snatched Manny's knife out of the side of his boot and placed the point up against Mitch's crotch and gave him a hard look.

"Hello?" Cami's meek voice came over the phone.

"Cami, baby, it's me," Mitch choked out keeping his eye planted on the knife.

"Mitch!" she cried out in relief. "Are you ok? Are you safe now?"

"Baby, I'm fine. Your brother's people rescued me."

"That's such a relief. When are you coming home?"

"That's the thing…I'm not…"

"What do you mean?" she said quietly and unsure.

"Baby, I met someone else while I was out here and I've decided not to come back to Trenton. There's more for me out here. Our run was good but it's time for it to end."

"Why are you doing this?" she sobbed and my heart broke for her. "I thought you loved me. You said that you loved me!" her soft sobs turning into hysterics.

"I did but I don't anymore," Mitch said coldly. "Look, I have to go. Take care."

I picked up the phone and pressed the end call button, shoving it back into my Rangeman issued cargos.

"Good boy," I smiled wickedly at him and then cracked my baton in the side of his ribs. "That's for beating Cami." I punched him in the nose, "That's for getting her involved in your low life schemes." I pulled him up on his feet and kneed him in the nuts, "And that's for putting Ranger's family in danger."

I let go of him and watched him keel over in the fetal position in pain. "You're a fucking bitch!" he spat out. "I did what you wanted me to do."

"What do you want a pat on the back?" I kicked him over so that he was lying on his back and placed my boot on his chest. "We better not see you anywhere near Trenton ever again. Stay away from Cami. We'll know if you make any contact with her. If you ever just so happen to run into her, I want you to walk away and pretend you don't know here. Manny, he's yours," I stepped away from him.

Manny picked him up dragged him out of the warehouse.

"Let's go," Deuce said grabbing my arm and lead me out of the warehouse back to his truck.

At the truck Deuce flipped on the radio and gave Ranger and the rest of the team the rundown of the takedown. After he completed the report, he placed the radio down on the hood of the car.

He then roughly grabbed me by the shoulders and slammed me in to the side of the car. His face was burning red with fury. "You could've possibly ruined the entire operation with that stupid stunt you pulled," he shouted.

"Ranger gave the ok to move forward."

"But you went forward without letting anyone know what you were up to."

"I'm sorry. I was angry and I acted. I knew you guys were there to cover me if anything went out of hand."

"You're incredibly reckless and stupid! I don't know how you ended up on this team because you're certainly not qualified. You're careless and who cares that you risk your own life but you risk the lives of every man on your team! You're a fucking idiotic, useless, emotional bitch!"

My mouth dropped open and I could see the muscles in Manny's jaw working his anger over standing behind Deuce.

I blinked back at the contract guys cautiously approaching us for further instruction. Then I turned back to Deuce and gave him a hard shove back away from me before Manny could step in.

"Who the fuck do you think _you_ are?" I shouted back at him. "Nobody on the team speaks to me like that and I will not allow my new partner to speak to me in that manner either. You have a problem with me, then fucking come to talk to me in private.

"I will amend to my mistakes but what I will not tolerate is you disrespecting me in front of my colleagues and demeaning me. You have an issue with me then take me to the mats like the rest of the men. But don't fucking call me names and don't ever fucking underestimate what I'm capable of doing."

Static sounded from over the radio. "We're still here," Cal's cold and menaced voice came over the radio.

"Not very good first impressions is it, Deuce?" I shot him a look at him before stepping into the back seat of the truck.

* * *

_Boom! Now what's in store for Deuce when they finally return to The Burg? And I kinda want to toss Manny down on the bed at the moment. ^_~_


	22. Chapter 22

_**Previous Chapter: **__"I will amend to my mistakes but what I will not tolerate is you disrespecting me in front of my colleagues and demeaning me. You have an issue with me then take me to the mats like the rest of the men. But don't fucking call me names and don't ever fucking underestimate what I'm capable of doing." _

_Static sounded from over the radio. "We're still here," Cal's cold and menaced voice came over the radio._

"_Not very good first impressions is it, Deuce?" I shot him a look at him before stepping into the back seat of the truck._

* * *

**CHAPTER 22**

"He's a jackass," I retorted stubbornly.

"Babe, he's a good solider."

"I don't care. I don't like him," I remained pouting into Ranger's chest.

"He'll be a good partner for you. He's well disciplined."

"Because I'm not?"

_Silence._

"You're a prick!"

He chuckled, "You are the one who chose me as your _friend_."

"Oh, so Batman's got jokes now? Get out of my bed!" I shoved him.

I've been back in Trenton for a day now. After we left the warehouse, Manny placed an anonymous call to the police to check the warehouse. He also found out from Mitch why Mosca was so hard up to find him. Turns out that Mitch found out about Mosca's knockoff shoe business and was skimming inventory and selling it on the side for himself. Mosca found out and threw him into his cellar demanding for his inventory back.

Mitch claimed he already sold it all and lost the money gambling it away. Mitch had been doing it long enough that he made a killing off of his earnings from the skimming plus nobody betrays Mosca and gets away with it.

We paid a visit to Kyle's girlfriend to let her know how sorry we were for her loss. She cried but thanked us for letting her know that he didn't run away without telling her. I was happy to leave Vegas behind away from the stripper poles and back to falling on my ass into garbage. And oddly enough, I prefer the garbage part over the stripper pole.

Upon my return to Trenton, some of the guys welcomed me back at my apartment and installed a stripper pole on the side of living room which they kept insisting I put on a show for them. That earned them the biggest glare I could muster up.

Cami had thanked me for everything that I had done for her and her family and she left that afternoon to spend the rest of her Winter Break with her family. Manny showed up at the team debriefing looking like a domestic abuse victim. I fussed over him the entire meeting knowing that he only got called to the mats because of his "marriage" to me and possibly all of that lip on lip action while we were drunk. I'm pretty sure that my fussing didn't help out his cause but he certainly didn't try to stop me. I'm pretty sure everyone thinks we slept together. But now that I think about it...does people thinking that really bother me? I mean if people already think it...how bad would it be to actually make it a reality?

_Mentally smacking myself in the head, "Get your head out of the gutter, Alyssa! What the hell has gotten into you?"_

Later that evening Les and Bobby made themselves at home in my apartment. Bobby whipped us up some dinner, Les provided entertainment and we gabbed the entire night until Ranger showed up.

Les wagged his eyebrow at me and Bobby gave me a shy grin as they dismissed themselves and Ranger took his place in my bed. Sharing a bed, or any space for that matter, with Ranger is like riding on Cloud 9. He thanked me for saving his family and told me how proud he was of me. Everything a girl wants to hear from the city's hero, Batman. We cuddled for the rest of the night into the morning where I was surprised to still find myself still wrapped in his arms.

Life was back to normal as it should be.

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I shouted standing up and attempting to climb out of the dumpster.

My first skip and only skip since I've been back in Trenton, Sam Burnell, drug dealer. He was caught trying to sell drugs to minors on the playground but as our system sometimes fails due to overcrowding in the jails, he was released on bail.

I've been chasing him for two days now and he was constantly giving me the slip. Plus, he was armed and dangerous and I was not particularly thrilled about him firing his gun at my head. So, I called Tank and asked him for backup since today was the last day I could bring him in on his bond. And who does he end up sending?

"You're pretty useless," Deuce muttered, dragging Burnell behind him in cuffs.

Yup, you guessed it — my new and cheery partner, Deuce. And to think for a short-lived period of time, I may have had a slight crush on him, but I'm going to say it was actually a mild case of gas. You know it's hard to tell the difference between lust and gas sometimes.

"Thanks, your encouragement is astounding," I rolled my eyes as I raised my arm and let him hoist me out of the dumpster.

I was chasing Burnell a few blocks before I followed him down the alley but he disappeared. As I approached the dumpster, he jumped out from behind it and alley-ooped me in. And minutes later, Deuce had the scum in custody without breaking a sweat.

We walked back to my Jeep and he deposited Burnell into the passenger seat securing him tightly.

"I'll want my cuffs back," he said sternly.

"Don't worry. I won't steal your cuffs."

"I'm not concerned about you stealing them." He grabbed my wrists firmly, not roughly, "I'm concerned about you losing them." His eyes burned into mine as the butterflies in my stomach were doing the cha cha.

Gas. Remember this is just gas.

"You are really poorly trained."

"I'll have you know. I come in and work on self-defense twice a week with the boys."

"It's not evident."

"I just started," I bit back.

"You smell like garbage."

I blanched. "Well, you're a big mean butt!" I shouted back angrily.

What the fuck? I couldn't come up with something better than "mean butt?"

He threw his head back and let out a loud laugh. "You need more training on your trash talking too."

"I'll keep that in mind," I muttered. "What's your problem with me? Why don't you request for a transfer if you dislike me so much?"

He shifted uncomfortably, "I don't dislike you. I just think that it was unfair for Ranger to hire you."

"And why's that?" I asked, biting the inside of my cheek to help tamp down my temper.

"Because it's unfair for you to be placed in a situation that you have no training for and are unprepared. And it's unfair for the team to be put into unjustified risk, having to work with an untrained operative."

I guess that makes sense. "Well, for your information, I turned down Ranger's offer to work at Rangeman on several occasions. And the Core Team requested that I join the team. I am trying my hardest to learn as much as I can to keep up with the rest of the team but all of you have been conditioned for years for this type of work. I've only been in the game for less than a year. I try to stay out of the way as best as I can. And Manny was right, sometimes I just don't think. I'm used to being on my own and acting on my own. Sometimes I forget that I have a team with me."

He nodded his head; his features softening slightly as he took in my words and I could swear he just brushed his thumb against my knuckles before releasing me. Maybe he's not so bad after all? God, I'm so wishy washy about how I feel about this guy.

"Besides, I enjoy the challenge and I'm bored. I haven't had the chance to really make any friends in this city since I've moved here. So you're keeping me entertained in the meantime."

I shot him my best laser eyes, "Well, as much as I'd love to stand around and chit chat with you. I need to get this low life down to the precinct."

He nodded, "You working tonight?"

I shook my head, "I'm off the rest of the weekend but told Tank to keep me on call if anything comes up. You?"

He shook his head, "Next shift is tomorrow night. You're my last run for the day."

"Well, good for you. Maybe you can find some sad pathetic female to keep your sorry ass _entertained_ tonight. It is Friday night after all," I smirked at him and hopped into my Jeep and took off.


	23. Chapter 23

_**Previous Chapter: **__He nodded, "You working tonight?"_

_ I shook my head, "I'm off the rest of the weekend but told Tank to keep me on call if anything comes up. You?"_

_ He shook his head, "Next shift is tomorrow night. You're my last run for the day."_

_ "Well, good for you. Maybe you can find some sad pathetic female to keep your sorry ass entertained tonight. It is Friday night after all," I smirked at him and hopped into my Jeep and took off._

* * *

**CHAPTER 23**

"What are you drinking?" Deuce shouted over the music.

"Just get me a beer." I watched as him walk towards the bar with Bones. I turned to Misty and glared, "Why did you invite him?"

Little did I know that when I told Deuce that I hoped he found a poor pathetic female to spend his Friday night with that it would end up being me.

"I didn't invite him. Bones did. He felt sorry for him. Apparently a lot of the guys on the team aren't too fond of him, so he invited him out," she shrugged.

"Here you go, ladies," Bones announced as the boys returned with our drinks.

"Thanks, hun," Misty smiled and gave Bones an affectionate kiss.

Gag me with a spoon. Blech.

"Thanks," I glumly grabbed my beer out of Deuce's hand and began to chug.

Misty shot me a warning look. What? I came here to have a night of dancing. And now I have to play nice with someone who blatantly dislikes me?

"I don't dislike you," Deuce leaned down and said in my ear. His breath tickling the back of my neck, I jumped slightly startled.

Crap was I talking out loud again or was this fucking new Merry Man gifted with the power of ESP like the rest of them?

"I'll dance with you," he said, grabbing my beer and placed it on the tabletop and lured me out to the dance floor.

I looked back at Misty who gave me a conniving wink.

I rolled my eyes at her and reluctantly (and I may be exaggerating when I say I was reluctant because this man was hot) put my arms around his neck as he placed his hands on my waist and we began to dip and swivel our hips with the rhythm of the music. Fuck, he was a good dancer.

The thing about dancing with Deuce was that he knew when to get close and he knew when to step back and let me do my own thing. I feel like we had danced non-stop for hours when I finally looked up and searched the room for Misty.

"They left," Deuce spoke up.

"Oh. It's getting late. I should be heading out too."

He nodded, "I'm getting a bit tired myself. You're a little dance machine. That's one thing I won't accuse you of…not having enough stamina."

I blushed as I pulled myself from his arms.

"You're beautiful when you blush," he brushed his thumb over my cheek.

Where is this going? I stepped back uncomfortable, "Well, you have a good night, Deuce. I'll see you at work."

"Do you need a ride?"

"No, I'll walk," I shook my head.

His eyebrows furrowed, "Walk?"

"Yeah, my apartment's not that far. I usually walk home."

"I'll give you a lift. Come on," he smiled.

I hesitated.

"I promise I won't bite," he grinned. "Unless you want me to."

Jesus, where is this flirtatious Deuce coming from and where's the Deuce with the stick up his ass?

He led me out to his car and we drove back to my place in silence. He insisted on walking me to my door and like every Rangeman, he let me into my apartment and disarmed the security system.

He did a quick search of my apartment which you think I'd get used to by now but for some reason it still irritates the living shit out of me. I did as he told and stayed by the open door. The last thing I needed was another lecture on how I don't do as I'm told by Deuce and ruining my evening.

He gave me the sign that it was clear as he stalked back over to me. Then the unexpected happened, he slammed the door shut and pinned me up against the door and slipped his tongue down my throat.

My heart began to race and my body suddenly betrayed me because suddenly I was wrapping my legs around him as his hands slid underneath the globes of my butt and pulled me up into him. He walked us into the bedroom as we feverishly began to undress each other.

He had my nipple in his mouth, teasing it with his tongue and trailed kisses back up to my neck. "When you told me that I should spend the night with a sad, pathetic woman, you were wrong. You're some kind of special, Alyssa," he took my earlobe into his mouth and bit it gently.

"Deuce, what are we doing?" I said breathlessly, trying to ween my thoughts away from his ever growing member pressed against my core with only my thong keeping him at bay.

"We're both adults. I think you should understand what's about to happen," he growled, grazing his hands over my breasts.

"Yes, I know but we shouldn't," I placed my hand on his chest.

He stopped fondling me but still kept junior pressed up against me firmly which made it increasingly difficult to breathe and form a coherent thought. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong is that you're my partner and we shouldn't be doing this. And I'm not ready to do anything like this."

"You seem pretty ready to me," he slid his hand down my torso, into my panties and into my wetness.

My hips bucked at the sensation as he wiggled his fingers inside of me and pulled out to show me the slickness of his fingers. "Pretty ready," his eyes hooded and he licked me off his fingers. His fingers slid back in as he pumped them in me as his lips traveled the length of my neck.

Holy cow, I was going to combust.

I bucked up against him but tried regaining my sense of sensibility and struggled to wiggle out from beneath him. He sat back with a slight amusement dancing in his eyes as he watched me crawl up on my knees and looked at him. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't physically attracted to you, Deuce, but we're partners and I don't want to ruin our professional relationship. Plus, I just got out of a relationship only a few weeks ago. I'm just not ready to move on yet."

"What about the others?"

"What others?"

"Manny for instance. Lester. Bobby. Your last partner, Binkie. _Ranger_," his voice hardened.

"I have not had an inappropriate relationship with any of those men or any other co-worker for that matter! Ranger and I are friends and we care for each other deeply. He helped me when no one else would. He will always have a special place in my heart but nothing is going on between us."

"So the slumber parties are just rumors?"

I scrunched my nose, "I spend casual nights with my friends when I needed some emotional support but nothing has ever happened."

"So you would never have a relationship with someone you work with?" he asked, his face blank and emotionless but another part of his body was very much still excited.

"I-I don't know. Maybe. Possibly. But right now, I just can't. But I can't predict what happens in the future."

"You know it's really hard to concentrate and not throw you back down on the bed and take you right now with you sitting there naked and all," he smirked and stood up grabbing his discarded clothes on the floor.

He began pulling his clothes back on and I crawled across the bed to him and put my arms around his neck. "Thank you for understanding," and kissed him lightly on the lips.

He grabbed my ass and pulled me roughly into his lips and gave me a hard forceful kiss and then stepped out of my embrace pulling on his shirt. "I'm not saying that I understand, Alyssa, but I will respect your wishes…for now," he replied gruffly and left the room, slamming the front door behind him.

I fell back down on the bed exasperated. What the hell am I doing?


	24. Chapter 24

_**A/N:** __A little feel good filler chapter before some darkness starts to set in. _

_**Previous Chapter: **__He began pulling his clothes back on and I crawled across the bed to him and put my arms around his neck. "Thank you for understanding," and kissed him lightly on the lips._

_ He stepped out of my embrace and pulled on his shirt. "I'm not saying that I understand, Alysssa, but I will respect your wishes…for now," he replied gruffly and left the room, slamming the front door behind him._

_ I fell back down on the bed exasperated. What the hell is going on?_

* * *

**CHAPTER 24**

I spent my entire Saturday being the laziest human being on earth. Ordering takeout, sitting in my PJs, and watching television all day. I have to say this is one of the best days I've had in a long time. Nice and quiet day to myself.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Well, there goes those thoughts out the window. I tossed the bowl of popcorn on the table and padded over to the door and swung it open and found myself face to face with Carl in a beautiful tux and a bouquet of flowers.

His smile quickly turned into a frown as he looked me up and down, "You should really look before you open the door, Alyssa. Why aren't you dressed?" he asked pushing himself through my apartment.

I was immediately embarrassed by the messy state of my apartment created by my lazy day.

"Dressed for what?" I asked curiously, following him into my kitchen as he grabbed a vase from one of my cupboards and began filling it with water.

Sure no problem. Make yourself at home. Everyone else does. I didn't even know I owned a freaking vase.

"You forgot?" he said, slightly disappointed.

"Of course I didn't…" I said enthusiastically, trying to think of what I could possibly agree to doing with Carl.

"You definitely forgot, Aly," his bottom lipped quivered as he pouted.

I threw my arms around him and gave him a big hug, "Oh stop pouting. We both know that I'm absent minded. Just tell me already."

He grinned at me and kissed the top of my head, "You agreed to be my date to the Officers' Ball."

Damn! I smacked my head, "Right! I'm so sorry, Carl. I did buy a dress before I left for Vegas. I'll get dressed really fast. We're not late are we?" I rushed towards my room.

"No, I knew you'd forget so I came early," he chuckled. "You've got an hour."

"Great! Give me thirty and I'll be all yours."

_**^o^ * ^o^ **_

We entered the hallway leading towards the ballroom at the _Grand Regency Luxury Spa Resort_ which was already filling up with men in uniform and women in beautiful lavish ballroom dresses.

I was beginning to feel rather plain in my _David Meister_ gold metallic, one-shoulder gown. Ok so the dress' price and actual dress wasn't really plain especially coming in around of $500 for the dress which back in the day would've been incredibly steep for me. But nowadays, a girl realizes she likes to feel pretty, and Ranger compensates rather generously. So I like to treat myself to pretty things now and then. Ok more like often lately.

This beautiful number had a ruched bodice gathered on my right hip with a floor length flowing skirt that split up the right side only a few inches below my panty line. It was a simple dress compared to all of the sequins and glitter but it was still daring.

The material clung to all of the right curves on my body but with the flowing skirt and dangerously high slit up the side made it a possible for me to walk in comfortably. Paired with my knockoff Jimmy Choo gold metallic leather peep-toe, strappy, 4-inch stiletto-heel sandal, I was feeling like a million bucks.

What? Nobody said we needed to return the merchandise in Vegas. And Misty paid for them fair and square. They'd probably just go in the furnace anyways so there's no point in wasting some perfectly good shoes.

"You're the most beautiful woman here," Carl said holding my hand and kissed the top of my bare shoulder.

I smiled at him, "You don't look too shabby yourself, Officer Costanza."

"Mostly because I have a gorgeous woman by my side," he smiled leading me towards the entrance of the ballroom where security was checking ID and invitations.

"Rangeman is providing security?"

He nodded and smiled, "Rangeman actually does quite a bit of contract work for the TPD. Ranger should be here tonight too. He's a huge benefactor."

"You look nice," Deuce said, startling me as he took Carl's invitation.

"Thanks," I blushed at him. "So you're playing doorman today?"

"Looks like it," he replied glumly. "You have a good time in that dress."

I hooked my arm into Carl's and flashed a quick smile over at Vince who was standing on the other side of the entrance.

"Why don't we find our seats first and then grab a couple of cocktails?"

I nodded my head and let him lead the way. "This is a lot fancier than I imagined, Carl. I feel out of place."

"You shouldn't, Babe. You look stunning."

Chills ran up my spine as I heard Ranger's voice from behind me. I turned around and was greeted with a gorgeous smile.

"Ranger."

"Babe," he raised my hand and kissed it like what every hot gentleman would do in a romantic chick flick.

"Hey, Beautiful," Les grabbed me by the waist pulled me into him, twirled me around and dipped me, placing a soft kiss on my lips.

I regained my balance and began giggling, "You're here too?"

"I'm this big lug's plus one," he pointed at Ranger. "He's pretty lame. Couldn't even find himself a date."

Then I started thinking why he didn't bother trying to ask me but quickly pushed the thought out of my head. I'm not even going to go there.

The evening was lovely. Carl introduced to a number of his colleagues who just loved reminiscing about my past car mishaps. I observed Ranger in his beautiful tux, shaking hands and schmoozing with people graciously. He truly was a beautiful man. Les ran around flirting with the females as usual.

Ranger and Les happened to also be assigned to our table along with some of Carl's other colleagues and their wives. As we sat and waited for our dinner to be served, one of them asked how we met and Carl immediately turned bright red and clamped his mouth shut.

"He doesn't like to talk about it," I grinned.

"Well, hell, that makes me even more curious," Big Dog roared. "I want to hear this story. Four years partnered with this guy and he's never told me how you guys became friends."

"Well, you're not going to hear it from me," I smiled at him politely. "I've been sworn to secrecy and I need to keep that secret and use it as leverage for a rainy day."

"I don't know what's worse. Having everyone know the story, or having Aly hold it over my head," Carl groaned.

I shrugged, "Doesn't matter to me either way. It's your story to tell. Besides, I have other things up my sleeves that I can pull on you. You never really were a golden boy, Carl."

"Oh good god," he grumbled loudly.

"Oh come on. Tell us the story," Big Dog's wife clapped her hands with glee.

The rest of the table started chanting for us to tell the story and I just sat smiling at Carl's embarrassment.

"FINE! I'll tell you the story of how I met the freaking devil who goes by the name of Alyssa Chau!" he shouted in exasperation.

"Oh, such kind and flattering words, Carl," I fluttered my eyelashes at him.

He began to dramatically stretch and work out the kinks in his neck as he sat back in his chair and threw his arm around my shoulder and began his story.

"So the day I met the devil was our freshman year of college. Most of us that went to _The College of New Jersey_ grew up in Trenton. It's mostly known as a commuter school, you know? Well, there had been this girl that the campus was buzzing about who came from New York City. I mean come on, of all the schools in NYC, why would someone come to our small town to go to school?"

"Stop exaggerating," I poked him in the side.

"I'm not exaggerating. All the guys were talking about her. This gorgeous Asian chick that came from the city, who had this quiet and alluring personality about her. But oddly enough, she wouldn't speak to anyone. She went to class, hung out in the library and back to her dorm. She didn't even have a roommate. This girl was a total mystery. A bunch of the guys kept trying to ask her out and she kept turning them down one by one."

I rolled my eyes, "A ton of guys didn't ask me out. I was the nerd in the library with her nose stuck up in a book. You're telling the story all wrong."

"Like you said, this is my story to tell, so I'm going to tell it," he retorted back.

Our food started arriving at the table and everyone seemed to be entranced in Carl's animated story. Ranger's eyes were fixated on me with a slight hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Beautiful, stop interrupting the story," Les waved at me.

"Yeah, continue," one of the women interjected, taking a bite of her roll.

I moved away from Carl's arm and swiped a roll from the basket and ate quietly.

"So as I was saying, plenty of guys were asking her out and she was turning them down left and right. She's being modest because she always sells herself short. Plus, if most of you are pretty aware by now, she's not very aware of her surroundings. She never paid attention much so if someone was talking to her; it was quite possible that she didn't even notice."

"I'm plenty aware of my surroundings," I muttered.

"Ok, you spent a good time talking to the captain and his wife earlier. What color was her dress?"

"Blue," I replied without hesitation.

"It was purple, Beautiful," Les chuckled.

I blushed, "It was a dark purple. Could have passed for blue."

"Ok moving on," Carl clapped his hands and continued as he ate. "So a bunch of us guys started taking bets on which one of us was going to get her to date them first."

I stabbed at my salad with my fork loudly and grumbled, "Always taking bets with me."

"I will always bet on you, Aly. Always," he leaned over and kissed my cheek and I wiped it off with my napkin in mock disgust.

The table laughed at our little banter.

"I was lucky to have quite a large number of classes with her so I observed her from afar. And inserted myself around her little by little by asking her simple class related questions which she was always quick to answer and move on with what she was doing never giving me a second glance. After a couple of weeks of failure we began to give up until I decided to pledge for a fraternity."

I snorted as images of that time flashed in my head.

He shot me a warning look, "I was ordered by one of the fraternity brothers to break into Alyssa's room and steal a pair of her panties and bring it back to him. So one night I scouted her at the library doing her usual studying, so I took off for her dorm room. Sweet talked my way past the door monitor and made my way to her room, picked the lock, and got in."

"Officer Costanza, you broke the law!" Big Dog's wife exclaimed teasingly.

"Statute of limitation," he pled holding up his hands.

Everyone chuckled.

"I finally found her drawer of treasures," he grinned, "did you know that she folds all of her panties in nice little neat squares?"

I elbowed him hard in the side. "Don't get off track, Costanza," I threatened.

He rubbed his side in mock agony and continued. "Right as I had my fists in her panty drawer, someone entered the room. I was caught red handed but before I could try state my case to her. She grabbed a broom! She dropped all of her heavy ass text books and grabbed this flimsy ass broomstick and started wailing on me. I didn't even know what direction she was coming from to block the blows. She seemed to be moving at lightning speed. Little did I know was this girl was good with a stick," he winked at me, once again drawing in the crowd's amusement.

"I finally fell back on her bed and held my hands up in surrender and she asked me why I was in her room holding onto a pair of her panties. I tried to explain to her that I wasn't some sort of pervert. She finally simmered down and let me explain to her about the order from my frat brothers. I begged her not to call the campus security that my scholarship would be in jeopardy of being revoked. So she came up with a brilliant idea…well brilliant in her eyes…"

"Well, don't stop there!" a wide-eyed brunette shrieked.

"She agreed to not call campus security and she even agreed to let me take a pair of her panties. The deal was that she would deliver me to the frat house…"

"Stop stalling, Costanza!" Big Dog roared.

"She delivered me to the house wearing nothing…but her panties…tied up with a note threatening them to leave her alone or there would be hell to pay."

Everyone at the table busted out in a uproar of laughter.

"So after that, I became enamored by this one and stalked her to no end until she'd finally stop to give me the time."

"I didn't have a fucking choice," I barked out. "He was relentless, followed me around like a bulldog."

"Yeah but a cute bulldog," he smiled. "I eventually won her over with my charms—"

"—and he corrupted me."

"Ha! All I did was get her to loosen up and go to some parties here and there. That's how she got the nickname 'One Sip Wonder.' She actually even attempted a couple of dates. But what people at school didn't know that this girl was a wild dancer that would slip away on the weekends and hit the dance clubs in her spare time."

"So did you guys ever date?" Big Dog's wife asked.

"NO," we answered in unison.

"I'm too much man for her to handle," Carl boasted.

"I was too busy concentrating on school and didn't need the distraction. Plus, have you met Carl? I mean come on now," I smirked.

They chuckled.

"I would've loved to have known Bookworm Alyssa," Les smiled.

"She's no different from Right Now Alyssa, Les," I replied.

"She's right. This girl was always a trouble maker," Carl retorted.

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Story for another time," he laughed raising his hands in defense.

We continued the rest of dinner laughing and teasing each other. Not in a million years did I ever imagine myself being this happy, surrounded by such good friends.

* * *

_Carl and Alyssa? A possibility? What do you think? ~Angie_


	25. Chapter 25

_**Previous Chapter: **__"I would've loved to have known Bookworm Alyssa," Les smiled._

_ "She's no different from Right Now Alyssa, Les," I replied._

_ "She's right. This girl was always a trouble maker," Carl retorted._

_ I stuck my tongue out at him._

_ "Story for another time," he laughed raising his hands in defense._

_ We continued the rest of dinner laughing and teasing each other. Not in a million years did I ever imagine myself being this happy, surrounded by such good friends._

* * *

**CHAPTER 25**

"Joseph Morelli is sorry he couldn't make it to tonight's affairs as he's currently on an assignment," the chief said. "So on his behalf I'm going to accept this award. It's a great honor for us to have our fine men and women move on to bigger and better things knowing that they got their start in our precinct."

A tear fell from my eye as I fixed myself on his handsome photo on the screen. The rewards portion of the night was wonderful. Carl received an award for _Best Spirited_ which made everyone chuckle. Rangeman was recognized for their dedication and support of the TPD to help keep the streets clean.

"I like to leave this special award very last because it means a lot to me. It's one of the most important honors that we can give although most times we wish we could do more to recognize their courage and efforts. Those of you who are seasoned know what award I'm talking about — _Honorable Person of the Year_. Last year the precinct received a gracious donation from the Susanne Oz."

Suzie Oz and her husband, Charles', photo appeared on the screen and I immediately turned on the waterworks. Instantly remembering the short period of time I spent with Suzie.

Suzie Oz was one of my first FTAs when I started out. She was a difficult old woman who wouldn't go without a fight. Turns out she just missed her late husband Charles and broke into the old home they built together. After hearing her touching story, I helped her get the charges against her dropped and spent my free time getting to know her. Learning of her adventures with Charles but best of all I remember the way her kitchen smelled as she baked us cookies.

"—Alyssa Chau!"

Everyone in the room stood up and applauded, turning towards me smiling.

What just happened? I stared back at everyone in shock. Why were they all looking at me? I glanced up and saw the screen had a slide show of a number of newspaper clippings and photos of me at the station with the guys.

"Come on, Alyssa, this is no time to be modest," Carl said grabbing my arm and led me to the stage.

"On paper we all know that Charles and Suzie Oz made this generous donation to our precinct but we all know the truth about Ms. Chau being Suzie's sole beneficiary and generously donated a portion of her inheritance to us. So we would like to thank her for all of her hard work, dedication to helping us keep our streets clean, and best of all allowing us to have our own local celebrity. Ladies and gentleman our very own Bombshell Bounty Hunter."

Everyone was still on their feet applauding. I stood stiff as a board in shock. Carl shoved me forward towards the podium walked off stage.

"Umm…honestly, I don't know why I'm up here," I replied in embarrassment. "I didn't do anything. I was just following Suzie's instructions from her will."

"Ms. Chau, us, old folks, at the TPD knows that the Oz duo were not a fan of the uniform," the chief spoke up.

I swallowed hard, "I really don't know what to say," my eyes filled up with tears once more. "Suzie was a woman with a big heart. I only did what I thought she would've wanted. And I am so honored to work with such wonderful people. I know I'm not a fellow uniform but you all treat me like one of your own. I honestly would give you guys the world if I could."

The whole room stood up and saluted me and my heart filled up with emotions.

"Thank you. But I will accept this award on behalf of Charles and Suzie Oz. May they continue to watch over all of us," I kissed my two fingers and raised it to the sky and everyone followed suit.

I tried to step away from the podium but the chief wrapped his hand around my arm and pulled me back towards him.

"We've been told, Ms. Chau, that you're quite gifted in the art of Wushu Stick Fighting. We would be honored for you to give us a demonstration."

The room applauded and my mouth fell open. "W-well, I don't have the proper equipment."

A man rolled a car full of bamboo fighting sticks out onto the stage.

"U-uh, I'm really rusty," I stammered.

"You only need to give us a small glimpse. Nothing elaborate."

"I-it would be a lot easier to demonstrate with someone rather than on my own," I searched for excuses.

"Any volunteers?" the chief called out to the room.

"I will," Ranger stood up and removed his jacket and began unbuttoning his cuffs and rolling up his sleeves.

_Fuck!_

"Well, then there you have it! We will have a nice little treat tonight."

The room erupted into applause.

I stumbled off the stage and made my way for the dance floor as everyone stood up and crowded around. I took off my shoes and shoved it into Carl's arms.

"You knew about this, didn't you," I grit out.

He flashed me a shit eating grin but remained silent. I grabbed a stick and met Ranger in the middle of the floor.

"Why the hell did you volunteer, Ranger?" I bit out in a quiet harsh rasp.

"Babe, this is going to be good. Don't hold back," he tilted my chin up and smiled down at me.

I'm so going to get my ass kicked.

We bowed to each other and took a couple of steps back and took our stances. The chief counted us down and immediately I went into my zone once I heard my "three" marker.

I let out a loud "kiya" cry and smashed my stick down on the floor erupting a loud snapping sound and charged at Ranger. The crowd gasped. I'm pretty sure from my animal warrior woman magnitude. The dance between Ranger and I went on for a few minutes.

And when I say dance, I mean dance because that's what I felt like. Ranger never attacked me instead he was always intercepting me as if I was a jazz dancer he was catching in the air as I did a leap in the air. Each time he cradled me but when I fight, I fight. So I maneuvered out of his grasps and went back to attacking him until he disarmed me rendering me useless. I'm not much use without a stick unfortunately.

My hand-to-hand combat leaves little to be desired but I attempted anyways and within a matter of seconds Ranger had me subdued and on the ground.

"Prick, isn't this supposed to be my glorious moment?" I teased at him quietly as everyone cheered.

"Babe, I never lose," his lips curled as he helped me to my feet and held me out to give everyone a little curtsy.

While Ranger was leading me back to our table, the chief was thanking everyone for coming and encouraging everyone to continue drinking and dancing.

Carl had a huge grin on his face as he handed me a glass of champagne.

"I hate you," I glared at him.

"Oh, Aly. Is that really the way to talk to one of your oldest and dearest friends?"

"You knew all about this and didn't warn me."

"It was supposed to be a surprise."

"Well, you may have released the story about our chance meeting Carl Costanza but I still hold the photographic evidence and it can easily be accidentally leaked out on the internet."

He paled, "You kept those?"

I nodded and grinned at him, "I need some fresh air."

He hooked his arm around mine diligently and led me out to the terrace. We stood quietly and looked out over the serene greenery of the golf course. It was a full moon. I wrapped my arm around his waist and laid my head in the crook of his arm and closed my eyes.

"Do you miss him?" Carl asked.

"Sometimes," I squeezed him tighter. "He hasn't spoken to me since New Year's."

"Well, I'm sure it's 'cause he's busy. They probably have him in some vigorous training."

"Or he just hates me."

"He doesn't and he couldn't. The man was head over heels in love with you, Aly. You may have broken his heart but what man wouldn't have their heartbroken after losing you?" he said quietly.

I looked up into Carl's eyes and he pulled me in closer and pressed his lips against mine.

* * *

_Woot! Carl Costanza! How do you like them apples? I leave you here and disappear for a week as I'll be out of town on business. Let me know what you think! ~Angie**  
**_


	26. Chapter 26

_**A/N: **I'm back! Wow, I just realized I never posted Chapter 25 before I went off on my trip. =( Sorry for the delay again. But at least you're getting two chapters in one day. =)_

_**Previous Chapter: **__"Do you miss him?" Carl asked._

"_Sometimes," I squeezed him tighter. "He hasn't spoken to me since New Year's."_

"_Well, I'm sure it's 'cause he's busy. They probably have him in some vigorous training."_

"_Or he just hates me."_

"_He doesn't and he couldn't. The man was head over heels in love with you, Aly. You may have broken his heart but what man wouldn't have their heartbroken after losing you?" he said quietly._

_I looked up into Carl's eyes and he pulled me in closer and pressed his lips against mine._

* * *

**CHAPTER 26**

"What the fuck, Carl!" I shoved him off of me.

The both of us wiped our lips in disgust. "T-that was…" Carl searched for the words.

"…horrible!" I said, completing his thought. "Let's promise to never do that ever again," I gulped down the rest of my champagne.

"Yes, agreed," he ran his hand down his face. "It was like kissing my sister. You're so repulsive."

I smacked his arm, "Asshole."

"Well, at least you'll never have to wonder if I was the one that got away," he smiled.

"The thought has _NEVER_ crossed my mind," I smirked at him.

"Sure it hasn't," he grinned.

Les and Ranger joined us and I walked into Les' arms. "I'm going to have nightmares tonight."

Les laughed and kissed the top of my head, "From that little stunt the two of you just pulled. That was pretty amusing. It was like watching a train wreck."

I groaned into his chest, "I think I need another drink."

"I'll get it," Carl offered and walked off.

"Bobby just called me and told me that your security system was disarmed when he arrived but nothing looked out of place. So he rearmed it before leaving."

"What was he doing at my apartment anyways?"

He shrugged, "Said he wanted to drop off some stuff for you."

I got giddy thinking he left me containers of his deliciously cooked food for the week. "You guys really should stop breaking in to my apartment," I said, trying to hide my content.

Les smiled at me ruffled my hair.

"Les!" I screeched pulling out of his embrace in attempt to save my hair.

"Babe, you need to remember to set your alarm."

"I was in a hurry. I haven't had any stalkers lately and FTAs have been pretty quiet. Honestly, I don't even remember the last time I've actually touched the thing. You guys are the ones that come in and out of my apartment more than I do."

We stayed a couple of more hours drinking and dancing. Carl walked me up to my door since I drank more than my usual limit. He then teased, asking if I wanted to try testing something else other than kissing and see where it gets us. I shoved him out the door and shut it. I dropped my keys and purse onto the side table next to the door and made my way to the kitchen when suddenly a loud annoying siren sound blared throughout the apartment.

Shit! The alarm!

I ran towards the door and began punching in a series of numbers but it wouldn't quit. Shit, I don't remember the fucking code. For months, I haven't touched this damned thing because Rangeman was always escorting me home. I felt like the screeching was getting louder and louder.

It was late and I didn't want my elderly neighbors to be startled awake. I ran into my room and grabbed my baton off the nightstand and began beating the keypad with the baton like a baseball bat.

The damned thing kept screaming at me and it started to sound like: BITCH. BITCH. BITCH. BITCH. BITCH.

"I'll show you bitch, you fucking piece of shit!" I ran into the kitchen, grabbed my cookie jar and removed my glock. I pointed it at the keypad, closed my eyes, and pulled the trigger.

BANG! CRASH!

The door was kicked in suddenly and Ranger stepped inside armed with his gun. I raised my hands in the air and noticed my gun was still in my hands so I let it drop to the ground.

Ranger's hard look quickly softened with a hint of amusement reaching his eyes. He pulled out his phone, "All clear," and hung up.

"Babe."

"I had to kill it. It kept calling me a bitch," I slurred.

He quirked an eyebrow and picked up my gun and removed the slug out of the keypad. "Nice shot, Babe. Shooting range with Ram?"

I shook my head, "I've only been once."

"You only had one bullet in your gun?"

I shrugged, "One bullet's all I need."

"Why didn't you just use the code?"

"I couldn't remember it. I didn't need to. You guys are always coming home with me all the time and messing with it. This is the first time in weeks, I had to touch it."

"Binkie was calling you and you didn't answer."

"Phone's still on silent."

"You could've called the Control Room."

"I couldn't think. The thing was calling me a bitch."

"It's not programmed to talk, Babe."

"Well, it sounded like it was saying, 'BITCH. BITCH. BITCH.'" I said mocking the alarm sound.

"I'll have Hector come back in the morning to reinstall a new one."

"No need," I raised my hand. "It's too much trouble. And I haven't had a stalker for a while. And I have my gun."

"With no bullets."

"I don't need bullets. If I just flash it, people are automatically frightened. It's more like a prop."

"Babe," he amused, loading my gun with a new full clip from his utility belt. "Keep it loaded at all times."

I took it from him and placed it back into my gun safe. Ok my gun safe isn't exactly a safe, it's a cookie jar but it works for me.

Ranger then swept me off my feet and threw me over his shoulder and dragged me into the bedroom.

"RANGER! Put me down!" I shrieked, smacking his nicely toned ass.

"Babe," he put me down on the ground.

And we stood still in front of each other for a couple of beats, breathing erratically.

His fingers lightly traced the lining of my dress and brushed over my nipples causing them to pebble underneath of the soft thin material of my dress. "Have I told you how beautiful you look in this dress," he cupped my cheek and lifted my lips to his.

I licked my lips hungrily and moaned softly into his mouth, "I believe you mentioned it."

He tossed me down on the bed and traced his hands up the side of my exposed leg.

"Ranger, what do you think you're doing?" I breathed out as he slipped his finger around the strap of my g-string and tugged it down.

"Babe, has it been that long?" he grinned into my ear.

I smacked him on the chest playfully when he began to unzip my dress and slide it off. A text message notification beeped buzzed from my phone. I crawled over to my nightstand and grabbed the phone.

_DID YOU MAKE IT HOME OK? – _Deuce

I pondered wondering why he cared.

_YUP. SAFE AND SOUND. _

_ GOOD NIGHT. YOU LOOKED NICE TONIGHT. _- Deuce

_ THANKS. =)_

"Babe?"

I looked behind me at Ranger who was running circles on my ass.

"When did you get this?" Ranger asked softly tracing my tiny tattoo.

"When I was in Vegas asking Kyle's friend questions about his disappearance. He wouldn't talk to me unless I got a tattoo. I don't even know what it is."

"You got a tattoo without knowing what of?"

I shrugged, "It's on my ass. Figured not many people would be seeing it there."

"It's the Chinese character for 'fire.'"

"You read Chinese, Ranger?"

"I recognize some characters."

"Impressive. And yet I'm the one that everyone keeps calling Asian."

He chuckled and rolled me over on my back. "The character suits you well."

I placed my hand on his chest, "Ranger, we can't do this."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I'm willing to be friends with you Ranger. But I'm not willing to be a friend with benefits. It's not who I am. I just can't."

"Babe, just one night."

"One night is not enough for me Ranger. I've never in my life had a one night stand or had 'casual sex…'" I paused "…intentionally. And I definitely don't want to start it with my friend, boss, mentor."

He pushed off me abruptly and began to dress. What is with these moody men lately? And I thought I was a little overly emotional lately.

"I'll be in the wind starting tomorrow morning. Call Tank if you need anything."

"How long?"

"Days. Maybe weeks."

"Ok. Be safe. Don't get shot."

He vanished without saying a word. All he was missing was a cloud of smoke for effects.

That was pretty abrupt of him. I mean he was never really the warm good bye kisses type but it still felt off to me.


	27. Chapter 27

_**A/N: **I was going to post this chapter yesterday but I really hate Alyssa in it. She annoys me and I couldn't bring myself to post it. So instead of supplementing it by posting two chapters today. _

_**Previous Chapter: **__He pushed off me abruptly and began to dress. What is with these moody men lately? And I thought I was a little overly emotional lately._

_ "I'll be in the wind starting tomorrow morning. Call Tank if you need anything."_

_ "How long?"_

_ "Days. Maybe weeks."_

_ "Ok. Be safe. Don't get shot."_

_ He vanished without saying a word. All he was missing was a cloud of smoke for effects._

_ That was pretty abrupt of him. I mean he was never really the warm good bye kisses type but it still felt off to me._

* * *

**CHAPTER 27**

Ranger's been in the wind for about a week now. I was bored out of my mind. FTAs have been scarce and for some reason Tank's been keeping me on desk duty. My best guess is that he's afraid if I go out on the field and something happens to me while Ranger's in the wind that it'll cause him more grief.

Not much has happened within the week. Hector came over to remove the damaged keypad. I begged him not to install another one. He reluctantly agreed with me but installed a floor bolt. Hector didn't speak much English so our conversation mostly consisted of hand gestures and pointing at things.

He looks like he probably was an ex-gang member with the two teardrop tattoos under his left eye. In comparison to the rest of the Merry Men, Hector was much more petite. He came in probably about 5'6", short buzzed head, skinny, and covered in tattoos. Looking at him any one would be terrified, but Hector had to be one of the kindest people I know. He smiled a lot, was openly friendly and don't think just cause he didn't have the muscle mass compared to the others that he couldn't handle himself in a fight.

Hector was cunning, stealthy and deadly. Ranger mostly used him when he needed someone to be extremely discreet and unseen during stakeouts. He was also a technology guru. He apparently helped Ranger build his Security monitoring infrastructure.

I was nervous he'd be angry about me destroying the security system he installed. Instead he kept forming his hand like a gun and pulled the trigger, _"Bang. Bang,"_ at the keypad and chuckled. So now another funny mishap to add to my long growing lists of screw-ups the guys can laugh about.

_**^o^ * ^o^ **_

"I'm done!" I shouted loudly, tears and sweat dripping down my face.

"Beautiful, it's only been ten minutes," Les smiled down at me, holding out his hand to help me up off of the mat.

"Ten minutes of torture. I don't understand why I have to do this. This is cruel and unusual punishment."

"Beautiful, all of us have to train regularly. Ranger's only making you do it regularly for four months as your punishment for disobeying orders."

"Can't you just tell him I went through it? I'm not as fast or as strong as you guys are. Why do I have to do hand-to-hand combat?"

"Even though you have a massive amount of luck, you're not always going to have a stick handy for you to use to fight with. You're going to have to learn how to get out of situations with just yourself. You need to learn to use your entire body to your advantage."

"I'm tired of falling on my ass," I pouted. I know. I know. This is not a very attractive sight to see but I wasn't feeling particularly adult-like or attractive.

"Well, then stop falling on your ass and fight me," he smirked.

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Would you rather join Ram in the gun range? He's been itching to get you in there."

"No!" I cried out in panic.

I'd rather be beaten up than go to the gun range. I don't know what it is about guns that terrify me but I'd rather have Les punch me in the face.

"How about knife training? Bones can train you the proper techniques of how to wield a knife."

I scrunched my face. His suggestions seem to be getting worse.

"Fine. Beat me up," I stood there exasperated.

"Don't be like that, Beautiful. You know I don't want to hurt you, but you'll be hurt worse if you aren't trained properly. How about you give it your all for the next forty-five minutes and I'll treat you to lunch."

"And dessert."

He chuckled, "And dessert."

"Deal!" I grinned at him. "Bring it, Santos."

We spent the next forty-five minutes sparring or more like Les spent the next forty-five minutes knocking me on my ass. He let me run into the shower first while he got hopped onto the treadmill to get in the rest of his workout.

How the hell he spent an entire hour beating the crap out of me and still has the energy to run on that death contraption was beyond my understanding. I placed the Rangeman beanie on the doorknob and stepped into the shower room and stripped.

Being that Rangeman was typically a male only run business, there was no separate shower room for females. And being that I'm the only woman that uses the facilities, there's no point in building out a separate one. So as a warning to the guys that the shower was off limits, I was to place a cap on the doorknob.

I stepped out of the shower feeling nice and refreshed when I noticed Deuce walking in stark naked.

"What the fuck?" I shouted angrily at him trying to cover my lady bits as best as I could.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were in here," he said with a small smile as his eyes raked over my body.

"The cap was on the doorknob," I screamed manically.

Ok, ladies and gents, get ready for it. Bring on the uncontrollable temper.

I snatched my towel off of the hook as I rushed past him. Wrapping the towel securely around me I yanked the door open and pointed angrily at the cap. "CAP MEANS DO NOT ENTER, JACKASS!"

Everyone in the gym stopped what they were doing to watch the fury unfold before them.

"GET OUT!"

Deuce strolled out of the shower room casually still buck naked and just shrugged his shoulder, "It's not a very good system and nobody told me."

"So you just thought it was ok waltz in not knowing why someone just hung a hat on the knob?"

"Sweetheart, it was an honest mistake. It's not like you have to worry, there's not much to look at even if I wanted to."

Fucking jackass was just trying to get it on with me a week ago and now he's saying I'm not much to look at? I lunged at him with all of my fury but was caught midair as a pair of arms pulled me back.

"Beautiful, why don't you go get dressed and let us take care of Deuce. You're giving everyone a little too much to look. As much as I'm enjoying it, I'm sure that Tank will be reporting this back to Ranger who will be less than pleased," he said kissing the top of my head.

He released me and I stalked off into the shower room and saw a gym bag sitting on the bench closest to the door. I grabbed it and walked back, throwing it in Deuce's direction. "Put something on. _You're_ not impressing anybody with what _you've_ got," and I returned to get dressed.

Mature. I know. So sue me.

_**^o^ * ^o^**_

"I'm going to try and cut him off in the back," I yelled over to Lula as I saw her giant lime green spandex covered ass get consumed by the window.

Harry Bickers was the FTA we were trying to reign in today. Lula insisted she come as my back up. Everything was going swimmingly until Bickers started heavily flirting with Lula and of course she was flattered. He insisted he'd go with us quietly and there was no need to handcuff him.

Lula of course agreed and as we were walking out the door he made a stupid attempt to try and taser Lula but managed to miss, even at close range, and singed her purse instead. She was not the happy camper about the fact that he just ruined her brand new bag she bought on clearance at the Nordstrom Rack and took after him as he jumped out the window and ran down the fire escape.

I tried to take a cue from Manny and think before I acted realizing that there was no way I'd make it through the window with Lula's ass stuck in it and even if she made it through there was no way the thing would support a grown ass man, Lula's big beautiful self, and my weight so I ran out the front to try to corner him.

And my genius idea would've worked if not for…

"I need help! This stupid ladder is stuck," Lula screeched as she dangled from the fire escape ladder which was not retracting.

"Hold on a sec," I said as I elbowed Bickers in the face and attempted to cuff him.

"My hands are slipping, Short Round! I can't hold on much longer," she panicked. "I'm losing my grip!"

I looked up as a large lime green blob flew down on top of me. I raised my hands up in front of my face in an attempt to shield myself but nothing prepared me for the ton of bricks that knocked me off of my feet.

I was now sandwiched in between Bickers and Lula's tight spandexed body.

"I can't breathe, you fucking fat bitches!" Bickers screamed from underneath of me.

I tried rolling Lula off of me as my wrist twisted in a way that caused me great discomfort.

"Who are you calling fat?" Lula bellowed and picked up his stun gun that was lying a few feet away and rammed into the side of his neck.

Bickers immediately began to drool all over the ground.

"I think I may have sprained my wrist," I said in defeat.

"Sorry, Short Round, I guess I shouldn't have eaten that piece of fried chicken I found in my purse earlier."

I rolled my eyes, "Help me get this idiot into the car so we can take him to the station before he wakes up."

Lula dropped me off at Rangeman after we left the precinct. I was early for my shift for monitor duty so I stopped by the infirmary hoping to find Bobby.

I poked my head in but it was empty.

"He's out with Les on a capture," Deuce said from behind me. He was sporting a busted lip and a black eye.

"What happened to you? You look awful."

"Your fan club," he replied coldly.

"I'm sorry," I touched his cheek. "I may have overreacted a bit. My emotions are little out of whack lately. Perhaps I should start taking vitamins."

"Wouldn't be a bad idea especially with the way you eat," he shrugged his shoulders.

"You really know how to say the right things don't you, Deuce?"

"Sorry."

"It's ok. I'm going to go grab something to eat before our shift starts on the awesomely fun monitor duty," I waved him off and headed to the break room.

I peeked into the fridge and found a little box with a red bow and a tag that said "Bomber" on it. I smiled and pulled out the box and grabbed a fork out of the drawer and headed to the Control Room.

"You're not supposed to eat in here," Deuce replied already settling into his seat.

Binkie was in my seat so I sat in his lap and shrugged my shoulders. "Ranger's not around. I don't see the harm in it," I proceeded to open the box and dig my fork into the soft, moist chocolate cake. "How's your ankle doing, Binkie?" I asked feeding him a bite of cake.

"Much better," he replied licking his lips. "Tank's putting me back onto regular rotation next week. Thank god because I'm starting to go stir crazy with all of this office work."

I kissed him on the cheek and stood up letting him get onto his feet. "That's good. So maybe we'll start being able to work together again soon?"

He frowned, "Tank said he's teaming me up with Vince for a while."

I tried to hide my disappointment, "That's cool."

"See you around, Bomber."

I nodded at him and turned to face the monitor and held my fork out to Deuce who had his stone cold look on his face. "Oh come on, loosen up. You know you want some," I teased him leaning towards him dangling the piece of cake in his face.

His eyes remained cold and unwavering then he grabbed my wrists and held on tight. Pain shot through my left wrist and tears immediately sprang from my eyes.

"Let go!" I screeched out in pain.

His face fell and panic filled his face as he released his grip on me. I stood up abruptly and shoved the chair out and walked out into the hall running into Manny.

"Wifey, where's the fire—" he asked jokingly, "—what's wrong?" his humor quickly turning to concern.

I shook my head, "Can you take over monitor duty for me for a bit, please."

"Of course," he rubbed my shoulders. "Are you ok?"

I nodded, "I just need to take a breather."

I took off for the bathroom to clean myself up quickly, trying to regain my composure. My wrist was throbbing and I could start to see the tall tell signs of swelling.

"What the fuck did you do to her, you bastard?" I heard Manny's voice raise.

I ran out of the bathroom and into the Control Room as Deuce and Manny were squaring off. Manny had his fist raised. I ran into between them.

"Manny, stop it," I hissed. "What are you doing?"

"Report!" Tank's voice boomed over the commotion.

"Boss, this prick did something to Alyssa," Manny grit his teeth.

"No he didn't!" I cried out. "Stop overreacting."

"Then why the hell did you run out of there crying?" Manny calmed down.

"Because I was in pain, and it wasn't Deuce's fault."

Deuce stood fuming and unmoving.

"You guys need to stop overreacting because of me. I'm not a porcelain doll and I can handle my own problems."

"Manny, you're finishing out the rest of your evening on monitor duty with Deuce. Little Girl, come with me," he grabbed me by the arm and lead me to the elevator to his office.

"Talk."

"I was just trying to feed Deuce some cake and he wouldn't eat it," I burst into tears.

"You're upset because he wouldn't eat contraband?" his eyebrow quirked.

I shook my head, "No he grabbed my wrist and the pain was unbearable."

"He hurt you?"

"No, I hurt it earlier."

"Then why didn't you go to the hospital?"

I scrunched my nose at him.

"Why didn't you see Brown?"

"He's out," I shrugged. "I figured I could 'walk it off.'"

"Little Girl, go to the infirmary. Brown should be back."

"Have you heard from Ranger?"

_Silence._

"Is he ok?"

"He's fine."

"So you have heard from him. Know when he'll be back?"

He shook his head.

"Thanks, Big Guy," I smiled at him and headed to the infirmary knowing that's the most I could get out of him.

"You been crying, Alyssa?" Bobby asked with concern as he pulled me into his arms.

"I think I broke my wrist," I helped up my swollen wrist and told him how it happened.

He chuckled as he checked it out, "I don't think anything's broken. I think it may just be a bad sprain but we'll x-ray it just to be sure."

"Thanks, Bobby," I kissed him on the cheek, knowing that I was the luckiest girl in the world to have such carrying people surrounding me.


	28. Chapter 28

_**Previous Chapter: **__"You been crying, Alyssa?" Bobby asked with concern as he pulled me into his arms._

"_I think I broke my wrist," I helped up my swollen wrist and told him how it happened._

_He chuckled as he checked it out, "I don't think anything's broken. I think it may just be a bad sprain but we'll x-ray it just to be sure."_

"_Thanks, Bobby," I kissed him on the cheek, knowing that I was the luckiest girl in the world to have such carrying people surrounding me._

* * *

**CHAPTER 28**

"Wake up," Deuce elbowed me.

A week passed, my wrist had healed full and still no word from Ranger. I was beginning to worry but Tank gave no indication as to whether I should worry about him or if Ranger just didn't want to have anything to do with me.

"You're the worst partner ever," Deuce grit out as he settled back into the driver seat.

"Like I said, ask for a fucking transfer," I grit back at him. "It's not like it's going to hurt my feelings any."

"Why don't _you_ ask for a transfer?"

"I have," I bit back.

"Really?" asked a bit shocked.

"It's not like you like me and you're not sunshine and rainbows, so yeah, I've requested and I keep being rejected. Tank says 'you're good for me,'" I answered in disgust knowing that Tank's words were actually Ranger's.

He smirked, "Because I don't let you get away with being lazy like the rest of the idiots do."

"They're not idiots," I shot back at him.

The longer and longer Deuce and I have been working together, the shorter and shorter our patience was growing for each other. I learned Deuce had as much of a short temper as I do and both of our tempers didn't help when it came to working together.

That slight attraction I may have harbored for him in the beginning flew out the window although I still get those weird butterflies when I'm around him. Again, I believe it's because he gives me heart burn making me sick to my stomach.

"He's moving. Let's go," Deuce said getting out of the SUV.

Bart Siebert was one of Rangeman's high bond FTAs charged with gun trafficking.

"Wait shouldn't we call for back up?" I asked, thinking this was only supposed to be a stakeout.

"He's here, and by the time we wait for backup he'll be gone. I want to see what he's up to," he said yanking me out of the SUV.

I frowned wondering what was up with his change in personality. The man was a stickler for protocol and constantly lectured me about my lack of discipline and responsibility. And here, he's willing to break protocol and wait for back up?

"I'm going to head him off through the front. You close in on him from behind," he instructed me.

He grabbed my vest and pulled me into him and reached for my gun and checked it, "Just wanted to make sure you are properly armed. Don't forget to use it," he patted my chest and took off.

He took off around the brush through the woods. Rangeman had been following Siebert for days trying to find out his secret location. The evening before, Siebert drove out to this location but never got out of his car. He just turned back around and headed back to a ratty motel back in Trenton.

There was more to this FTA than the standard run about of capturing him and turning him in. An additional reward was being offered for the whereabouts of his holding location.

Deuce disappeared into the woods after Siebert leaving me on the edge of darkness nervous about what was to come next. I had an unsettling feeling that this wasn't going to go over well. So I did the most unthinkable thing — I went against my partner's wishes and called Les.

"Bored, Beautiful?"

"I need back up now!" I hissed over the phone and hung up not wanting to go through further explanation or leaving Deuce without backup much longer.

I entered the woods carefully, cursing Deuce for being so ill-prepared. What was wrong with him? He's not usually like this. He's the one that's supposed to be level-headed and here we are running into the middle of unfamiliar woods after an arms dealer with no back up and no night vision goggles!

I heard a loud cracking sound and a burst of gunfire in the distance. I charged towards it as fast as my legs could carry me, terrified that something happened to Deuce.

I approached the sounds of grunting and yelling and found Deuce on his knees being held at gunpoint by Siebert under the moonlight.

"Freeze! Put your hands in the air," I tried my hardest to sound authoritative as I pointed my gun at Siebert. Please don't make me shoot you, I pleaded to myself.

"Just shoot him," Deuce grit his teeth.

"Put your gun down on the ground! We have the place surrounded," I lied, hopefully convincingly.

"Surrounded, huh?" a voice said from behind me, shoving me forward.

I fell to my knees and was instantly back up in the air as the man picked me up by the back of my shirt. Deuce took the opportunity from the distraction to knock Seibert's firearm from his grip and began to tussle. I wiggled about as I tried to remove myself from the man's grip. Then I did the next unspeakable thing. I unstrapped myself from my Kevlar vest so that I could fall out of the man's grasps.

Falling to the ground, I rolled over and tagged him with my taser. Just as I thought things were starting to go our way a handful of men came out of the shadows and began to fire at us. Yup, smart. Run into the middle of the dark unfamiliar woods unprepared chasing a firearms dealer! I cursed at Deuce but this was no time to play the blame game.

I whipped out my baton and began charging after the men. Deuce was returning fire and dealing with a handful of men himself. I couldn't rely on him to save my ass so I was going to be on my own.

If I wasn't in a state of eminent danger, I would be patting myself on the back for the way I was handling myself. I got in a good couple of strikes and was about to put one of the four men out of commission but then my baton was knocked out of my hands and the panic settled in.

I quickly glanced over at Deuce who was being pummeled by three brawny men. The good thing about being small framed was that I tend to be a little faster maneuvering around their feet as I ducked around them every now and then feeling around for my baton. But with my distraction of trying to locate my weapon, it ended up landing me a foot to the jaw. I was picked up by the throat and thrown into a tree. Landing with a hard thud, it felt like my entire body was broken.

One of the men grabbed my arm and dragged me out to the middle of the clearing and placed his boot to my throat and raised his pistol to my head. "Who sent you?"

"Rangeman, and they'll be here any minute," I choked out as his boot crushed my windpipe.

A man yelled out in pain over in Deuce's direction and followed by a loud pop as the man who was holding me at gun point collapsed to the ground.

"You're surrounded. Drop your weapons and get down on the ground!" Les' commanding voice was music to my ears.

I sat up rubbing my throat as two men ran over to me quickly, grabbing my arms and pulling me to safety, out of the woods and back to the fleet of Rangeman SUVs.

I felt like more than half of the Rangeman Calvary showed up to our rescue. Bobby was treating our minor cuts and bumps as the rest of the men secured the arms dealers handing them over to the police as they showed up. Deuce shot me a look of anger and disdain as we watched the men being detained and handed over to the cops.

Then Tank began to make his way over to us. He had this vein on the side of his forehead that was throbbing and looked like it was about to explode at any time.

I gulped as he approached both Duece and I, nervous about what was to happen next. "Hey there, Big Guy, thanks for the back up," I tried smiling bravely at him.

"REPORT!" he barked loudly.

I began to explain before Deuce could open his mouth, "It was my fault. Deuce wanted to wait for back up to show up but you know me always not following orders. I was afraid he was going to disappear so I ran off after him. Deuce tried to stop me," I said sheepishly.

What? The last thing I needed was my partner to not trust me because I went against his wishes so the least I could do was take the blow for the op gone bad.

"Little girl, you could've gotten yourself killed and your partner!' he roared.

"I'm really sorry," I said sadly. "I just wanted to make sure we got him."

"You're no longer training with Santos. I'm ordering you to three additional months of regular training and Deuce will be training you unless you choose to agree to weapons training," he ran his hand down the length of his face.

"Deuce, good job," he nodded at him and stalked off.

"I told you that you're training has been useless," Deuce grit out.

My mouth fell open, I just took the brunt of the blow for a decision he made and he's criticizing me?

"I told you to shoot him and you didn't. The minute you lost your baton you became useless. You also went behind my back," he said angrily.

I jumped to my feet and gave him a hard shove, "I just took the slack for a decision that I was against and this is what you have to say to me? We could've both been killed because of your decision. I made a judgment call and it turned out to be the right one!"

"Nobody asked you to take the fall. I can handle the fucking consequences of my actions. You have no ability to do the same. I want to start training starting tomorrow at 0600 for three hours of hand-to-hand combat."

I wanted to smash my fist into his face so badly but I saw Les come into view and I chose to run to him instead. I threw my arms around him and buried my face into his chest.

"Thank you for coming so quickly," I clung onto him tightly.

"Beautiful, I've known to never take your instincts lightly and if you're calling for backup, I know it's serious," he said, kissing the top of my head.

"I want to go home now."

He nodded and kissed me again, "Let me check in with Tank and I'll get you out of here."

After driving me home, Les tucked me into bed and gave me a kiss on the forehead.

I grabbed his hand, "Promise me you won't say anything!"

I told him on the way home the truth about everything that happened. He knew something was off and I just couldn't lie so I told him what had really happened which only fueled his anger towards Deuce even more.

"I can't believe that Tank's not allowing you to train with me anymore and is handing you off to that loose cannon!" he blew out referring to Deuce's temper which I've also shared with Les on many occasions.

"Les, he's my partner and I have to work with him. Please don't say anything."

"You shouldn't have taken the fall for him."

"But I did and that's that. Please," I begged.

"Whatever you want, Beautiful. Are you sure you don't want me to stay?"

I nodded, "I've started getting used to sleeping alone. I can't fall back into my old pattern."

He nodded and left my apartment quietly.


End file.
